Aston Villa have been dealt a rather significant injury blow after it was revealed that Boubacar Kamara suffered knee ligament damage during their recent Premier League match against Southampton.
To briefly highlight how important the midfielder has been for Steven Gerrard’s side this season, the Frenchman has made more successful tackles (15), successful pressures (50) and interceptions (12) than any other player at the club.
With that in mind, one player in Gerrard’s squad that could potentially benefit from this unfortunate news is Marvelous Nakamba.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Villa boss had challenged the midfielder to force his way into the team before the January transfer window opens.
Having only featured in three matchday squads so far this season and yet to make his first appearance of the campaign, presumably as a result of Kamara’s presence in the side, the Frenchman’s injury could now pave the way for Nakamba to step up to the plate and show his manager he has what it takes to be an important player for him.
Back in November, not long after Gerrard was appointed as Villa manager, he had this to say about the £32.5k-per-week Zimbabwean.
He said: “He’s been fantastic, he’s trained extremely well. He’s been really open, his two performances have been outstanding. We were aware of Marvelous before we came in, but he’s somebody who has really stood up and jumped out, he’s basically said in the two weeks, ‘I’m here, I want to contribute, I want to be available’.”
This suggests that the 28-year-old does have the capacity and the mindset to be able to step up for his side when it matters.
Bearing in mind how the midfielder ended the previous Premier League campaign with the joint-third highest average of tackles per game (2) at Villa, this shows that he can be the one to fill in for Kamara and potentially save his career at the Midlands club.
