Marvelous Nakamba’s future at Aston Villa has been thrust under the spotlight after he was left out again from the playing squad when the Claret and Blue beat Everton 2-1 on Saturday to register their first win of the season.
Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard also overlooked the Zimbabwean star from the squad that lost the opening season fixture against Bournemouth.
The defensive midfielder has not even made it to the substitute bench, and his absence has been conspicuous.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the out-of-favour 28-year-old could be on his way out of the club, with John McGinn and Douglas Luiz being preferred ahead of him.
Injuries have previously limited Nakamba’s input to Villa’s cause after managing 16 appearances last season, with six being from the substitute bench.
He even missed the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals hosted by Cameroon after suffering a knee injury that ruled him out for 12 weeks during a match against Liverpool in December.
Meanwhile, Gerrard is pleased with the players he has selected.
“I’m really pleased with our level of performance; I believed that if we found that level, there would be a different outcome from last week,” Gerrard said as quoted by BBC Sport.
“What we put in this week, the quality and the goals we scored, no one can challenge the outcome. I thought we deserved it.
“We looked like a different team today. It was tough conditions for both sets of players, but they were excellent in terms of the game plan. We really wanted to make it about their back three, and both goals have come off that.”
It remains to be seen if Nakamba gets his place in the team, which is unlikely considering how Gerrard has been charmed by the players he chose for the first two matches.
