Aston Villa set to sign their eleventh player of the summer: Exactly what Smith needed?

Aston Villa are closing in on an incredible 11th signing in the summer transfer window as they have reportedly agreed on a deal with Club Brugge to sign midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, for a fee of £11 million. Nakamba joins Villa just a few days after the club confirmed the signing of another midfielder, Douglas Luiz, from Manchester City.

With the signing of Nakamba, Villa will have spent in excess of £120 million since being promoted to the Premier League, breaking their club transfer record with the signing of Wesley Moraes.

The Zimbabwe international was with Club Brugge from 2017 and had two good seasons with the Belgian side. Before his stint at Brugge, Nakamba played for Dutch side Vitesse and moved to Club Brugge for a fee of £4 million.

Nakamba played 23 games for Club Brugge in the 2018-19 season and over 60 games over the course of two seasons for the Belgian club. The defensive midfielder has represented Zimbabwe on 18 occasions since his 2015 debut and recently featured for them in the African Cup of Nations.

What will he add to the Villa squad?

Nakamba is a tenacious, hard-tackling midfielder who has great energy and work-rate. The Zimbabwean offers stability and a shield for the back four with his interceptions, tackling, and all-round ability in midfield.

The midfielder is also a neat passer in midfield, keeping the ball ticking with his short passing, as well as being in and around the defence to clear loose balls. Villa will need a midfielder like him, who will add some steel and aggression to the midfield with his tackling and interceptions.

The newly-promoted side currently don’t have an aggressive midfielder like him, as the likes of Conor Hourihane, John McGinn, or even Douglas Luiz aren’t midfielders who can tackle or have the work-rate that he does.

Nakamba’s work-rate is down to having good stamina, fitness, and strength, which would be needed for Villa if they want to stay in the Premier League. In 5 games that he played in the Champions League last season, Nakamba averaged 4.4 tackles and 3 interceptions a game.

While he may not have much to contribute offensively for Villa, he is good at what he is meant to do – protect the defence, clear the danger and dispossess the ball off the opposition attackers.