Aston Villa agree loan deal with Luton Town for Marvelous Nakamba despite interest from West Brom

Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is set to join Luton Town, despite interest from West Brom.

The Zimbabwean midfielder is heading for a medical at Luton after the clubs agreed a loan deal.

The 29-year-old has yet to appear under Steven Gerrard or Unai Emery this season, his last competitive outing for the club coming in the dramatic 3-2 loss to Manchester City at the end of last season.

Marvelous Nakamba has not appeared for Aston Villa in the 2022-23 season

The defensive midfielder arrived at Villa Park on a £10.5m contract from Belgian club Club Brugge in 2019, initially going straight into the starting XI under then-boss Dean Smith.

In his first season in the Premier League, Nakamba played 29 times, but quickly fell down the pecking order, recording the same number of appearances in the next two seasons combined.

And in the 2021-22 season, he averaged just 57 minutes on the field in 16 appearances, 11 of which were from the start.

Luton are bidding to reach the play-offs in the Championship, and are currently sitting in seventh place on 42 points, just three behind Norwich in third.

Rob Edwards’ team is currently seventh in the Championship in their bid to reach the play-offs.

Nakamba will join Louie Barry on loan for the rest of the season, and the former Barcelona striker’s spell at MK Dons was interrupted to secure a move to the League Two side.

Emery’s team have been active in the January transfer window, securing deals for former Real Betis full-back Alex Moreno and former Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran.

But the former Villarreal, PSG and Arsenal boss may not be done with his rebuild just yet, as the club previously weighed a move for £44m-rated Betis striker Luiz Henrique in early January.

Nakamba made as many Premier League appearances in 2020-21 and 2021-22 combined as he managed in 2019-20