An update has emerged on Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, regarding interest in his services... 

What's the talk?

According to The Daily Mail, Crystal Palace and Everton are both interested in signing Aston Villa defensive midfielder Marvelous Nakamba this summer.

The report claims that Dean Smith wants to improve his midfield options before the end of the transfer window, which could push Nakamba further down the pecking order and open the door to an exit.

Fans would be relieved

Villa chief Johan Lange must ruthlessly axe Nakamba from the squad this summer and replace him to give Smith a better set of midfield options next season. The ex-Club Bruges midfielder has not been able to consistently prove himself at Premier League level since arriving at the club at the start of the 2019/20 campaign and Lange must act on Everton and Palace's interest to recoup some money for his services.

One player Villa have been linked with in his position is Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse. He would be a significant upgrade on Nakamba and improve the club's chances of competing for a European spot next term, with the England international averaging a sublime WhoScored rating of 7.07 for the Saints. The Villa man, meanwhile, was only able to average a score of 6.52 in the Midlands.

Therefore, cashing in on him amid this interest from elsewhere could help to fund a deal for Ward-Prowse, which would be an improvement to Smith's midfield. Fans would be relieved to see the back of Nakamba, especially if it meant that they could bring in an excellent player to take his place in the squad.

Former Premier League player Benjani had backed Nakamba to prove his debut season critics wrong in 2020, heading into last season. He said:

“The Premier League is a very difficult league I tell you.

"Just to make it into that league is a huge achievement on its own, so we have to celebrate Marvelous Nakamba. He has done very well. Last season was his debut and he managed to show his capabilities. I am convinced next season he will prove his critics wrong.”

However, the £34k-per-week enforcer ended up regressing. He played 29 games in his first season for Villa, starting 19, and then went on to play 13 times - nine starts - in the 2020/21 campaign. This shows that he is not cut out to play regularly at the top level, which is another reason why fans will be happy to see him walk out of the door this summer.

AND in other news, Big update emerges on “wonderful” gem that will surely leave Villa fans gutted...