“I’m really not sure what to expect from this” – Aston Villa player seals Luton Town transfer move: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Luton Town confirmed the loan signing of Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba yesterday afternoon.

The Hatters, who had turned out to be a pretty hectic Deadline Day, saw Harry Cornick depart permanently for Bristol City, Glen Rea join Cheltenham Town on loan, whilst Marvelous Nakamba and Joe Taylor arrived from Villa and Peterborough United respectively.

The 29-year-old, who was also being considered by West Brom at one point yesterday, has over 50 games of experience in the Premier League, although he had not featured this time around.

A Zimbabwe international also, the holding midfielder has managed to accumulate experience in England’s top-flight, across Europe and on the international stage.

Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts on the midfielder and whether or not he can emerge as a regular starter at Kenilworth Road as the season progresses…

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Billy Mulley

First and foremost, Luton now have some excellent options in the middle of the park and look well-equipped to come up against any midfield in the division.

There is an excellent balance in Luton’s midfield, with the likes of Allan Campbell and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu who are tough, ball-winners who have great levels of energy and desire, whilst Jordan Clark and Louie Watson can split lines and cause havoc when in possession.

Nakamba is an excellent addition who will immediately drive completion levels at Kenilworth Road, and he will provide both a determination out of possession and quality with the ball at feet.

Certainly a strong addition and one of the best signings in the Championship on Deadline Day, he will be hoping to play a significant role as the Hatters continue their play-off pursuit.

There is certainly scope for Nakamba to emerge as a regular start for Luton as the rest of the campaign progresses and he may be better suited for games when the Hatters are not expected to dominate the possession statistics.

Marcus Ally

There will likely be a transition period for Nakamba to observe under Rob Edwards, having been used so sparingly by Aston Villa this season, but in time the defensive midfielder should go on to establish himself as a regular starter.

Nakamba has fallen out of favour at Villa Park and his first team prospects in the second half of the season were looking bleak, but you can guarantee that the Hatters have done their background checks regarding his fitness and suitability to the style of play and squad that they have.

The likes of Allan Campbell, Jordan Clark and Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu have been reliable performers for some years at Kenilworth Road, but can all step into more advanced roles to allow Nakamba to slot in at the base of midfield.

It will be exciting to see how he adapts to second tier level, his ball winning capabilities should provide more transitions for the Hatters to make the most of.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

I’m really not sure what to expect from this transfer deal.

On the surface of it, Luton are getting themselves a very solid defensive midfielder, and one that reportedly cost Aston Villa £11 million just a few years ago.

There’s also further positives with this being a loan deal, so if things do not work out, the club aren’t stuck paying the player big wages for the next few seasons.

My concern is Nakamba’s lack of action.

As per Transfermarkt, he has played zero minutes of action for Aston Villa so far this season and as much as you can keep fit in training, we hear time and time again that it is nothing compared to match sharpness.

As such, it may take him some time to get up to speed, and with the Hatters in the thick of the play-off chase at the moment, they need everybody fully at it.