The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
By moving to English Premier Soccer League side Aston Villa, Zimbabwe international midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is living a childhood dream he has had since he was in primary school.
Nakamba completed his move to England from Belgium, signing a five-year-deal for a reported fee of about £11 million. His weekly wages are set to be around £55 000 (US$ 66 760).
Although he insists that it is still too early to talk about life at Villa, Nakamba revealed to The Sunday Mail Sport that he was relieved when the protracted transfer talks were concluded.
“It’s marvellous,” he said when he heard that the two clubs had finally reached an agreement. The move is a dream come true for the Hwange-based player. The Warriors midfielder is set to rub shoulders with some of the world’s finest players in one the best football leagues on the planet. “It has always been my dream to be among the best players in the world, competing among the best players in one of the best leagues in the world. I am ready to do my best for Aston Villa,” Nakamba said. At Villa, Nakamba will reunite with his former Club Brugge teammate Wesley Moraes who joined the team earlier in June. Moraes is the most expensive player in the history of the Lions after going for a fee of £22 million. “He (Wesley Moraes) spoke to me almost every day when I was home in Zimbabwe, saying positive things about the club. “I am happy there is a familiar face there. Having a former teammate at Aston Villa will help me settle well at the club,” said Nakamba. Coach Dean Smith is also happy to have the Zimbabwean at the Birmingham City outfit.
“Marvelous fits the criteria of the type of player we were looking for. He is very mobile, is very good in possession and will fit in with our style of play,” said Smith. Nakamba’s journey started off with Highlanders juniors before he was lured by Methembe Ndlovu to Bantu Rovers in 2010. He made his Castle Lager Premier Soccer League debut at the age of 16. The Aston Villa new signing had to spend two years with Tshinja Guluva before joining French Side Nancy in December 2012, were he was assigned to the team’s reserve side.
He had to spend another two years with the Ligue 2 reserve side and went on to make his debut for the club on May 9 2014 in a 3-1 home win over Angers SCO. His stock on the European market continued to rise when Nakamba joined Netherlands Eredevisie side Vitesse in August of the same year. He went on to make his debut for Vitesse in the club’s comprehensive 6-2 away win against Dordrecht in a game in which he came on as a second-half substitute for Kelvin Leerdam on September 27, 2014 From then on, Nakamba cemented his place in the starting line-up for the Dutch side.
In 2017 after helping Vitesse to their first league title in their 125-year history, Nakamba moved to Club Brugge and signed a four-year deal with the Belgian side.
Again, the former Bantu Rovers midfielder did not take time to establish himself at Club Brugge. He went on to make his UEFA Champions League debut with them on October 3, 2018.
However, that game ended in a 3-1 defeat by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitan.
lt was his exploits in the 2018 Champions League campaign that attracted a number of European clubs to the 24-year-old Warriors star.
