In a recent report, The Daily Mail stated that Everton are set to rival Crystal Palace to land Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba this summer. It is believed that the Toffees are weighing up a move to bring the Zimbabwe international to Goodison Park during this summer transfer period (via The Daily Mail).
Nakamba’s Sporadic Role At Villa Park Last Season
The Hwange-born midfield ace was a good squad player for the Villans last season but managed to impress by producing a few solid displays at the heart of Dean Smith’s midfield. Nakamba appeared in 16 matches for the West Midlands outfit in the previous campaign, receiving three yellow cards in the process across various competitions.
The 27-year-old anchored the midfield quite well as he averaged 1.7 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 0.6 clearances per 90 minutes in Premier League football. He even distributed the ball accurately from midfield after completing 84.2% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via whoscored).
Nakamba has transformed himself into a useful role player at Villa Park over the past couple of seasons. Thus, the Toffees will do well to bring him to the blue half of Merseyside before the start of the new campaign.
What Will Nakamba Add To Benitez’s Team?
Nakamba is a tough-tackling midfielder who can disrupt the opposition’s rhythm in the game at the centre of the park. He is usually quick to respond to the danger and can make some crucial interceptions for his team.
The 23-time Zimbabwe international has got a good work rate and is not afraid to cover a lot of ground in midfield to help his teammates out at the back. Nakamba can be a tidy passer of the ball when he is playing with confidence on the pitch. However, he lacks consistency and is yet to make himself a regular starter in Smith’s first team.
We can expect Nakamba to add a lot of bite and steel to Rafael Benitez’s midfield department and enhance the overall depth of his match-day squad. He will offer some serious competition for Tom Davies, Allan, Andre Gomes and Abdoulaye Doucouré for a regular starting spot at Merseyside next season. Therefore, Benitez should consider going all out to win the race to acquire the services of the Zimbabwean talent ahead of the new campaign.
