WARRIORS midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is said to be on the radar of English Premiership side Newcastle United ahead of the January transfer window according to reports from England.
With the threat of relegation very real, Newcastle, who are now under the ownership of a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are expected to splash the cash in January.
PIF is reported to have assets worth around £320 billion, making Newcastle one of the richest clubs in the world.
The Magpies currently find themselves on 19th place on the log table with four points from nine matches and have no wins to show for their efforts so far this season.
That poor run saw them sack manager Steve Bruce shortly after the ownership change and Graeme Jones is currently taking charge on interim basis and at the weekend guided them to a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
And eager to claim a place at the top several stars are being linked with Newcastle and Nakamba, who has struggled to displace Brazil international Douglas Luiz and Scotland star John McGinn at Villa is among them for a reported fee of around £15 million.
The 27-year-old has not started for Villa since the opening-day 3-2 defeat to Watford and has been a substitute in four further matches this season.
Nakamba, who joined Villa from Club Brugge for around £10 million upon promotion from the Championship in 2019 has proven himself to be a more-than-capable squad player despite limited action under Dean Smith.
The Zimbabwe international played the final two games of last season as Villa ended the 2020-21 campaign with solid defeats of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea and hopes were high that he would be afforded more time this time around but nothing has changed.
Fans at St James’ Park have dreams of signing some of the top names in world football but for now the new ownership have their sights set firmly on staying in the Premier League and Nakamba is seen as an idle candidate to accomplish that.
His move, though, is likely to depend more on the impending appointment of sporting director and manager to replace Bruce.
Amanda Staveley, who helped broker the takeover and now sits on Newcastle’s board of directors, has previously spoken about the club’s plans for the January window.
“The January transfer window is not the best time,” Staveley said as quoted by ChronicleLive.
“The best window is always the summer.
“Our objective is to invest at all levels: we will recruit for the first team, but also for the women’s team and the youth teams. We want to improve our infrastructure.”
Apparently, it’s not the first time that Nakamba has been linked with a move away from Villa. Earlier this year, Nakamba was reported to be on the radar of English Premiership sides Everton and Crystal Palace although nothing came out of it.
Nakamba has made 57 appearances in total for Villa, seven of which have come this season.
