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Aston Villa news: Douglas Luiz tipped to explode after 'good news' - pundit
Marvelous Nakamba will be “back very soon” but may not dislodge Douglas Luiz from the Aston Villa starting XI, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Aston Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer insisted Nakamba’s imminent return will hand the rest of the midfielders a “boost”.
The Zimbabwean has not featured for Steven Gerrard’s side since before Christmas after suffering a knee injury in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool (12 December).
Before winning back-to-back games in recent weeks, Villa recorded just two wins – against Norwich City and Everton – in the first eight games he missed.
As quoted by Birmingham Live last Friday (4 March), Gerrard revealed he is set to welcome Nakamba back in the next “three or four weeks”.
The midfielder had been one of the stars or Gerrard’s early reign but Agbonlahor has claimed 23-year-old Luiz – his replacement – has been “outstanding” recently.
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“Yes, it will be a boost,” he told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“But the last two games Douglas Luiz has been very good. He’s flying forward and getting into the box. He’s been outstanding and transformed.
“When there’s competition for places that means everybody’s performances go up.
“It will definitely be very good to get Nakamba back in the side. He looks like he will be back very soon so that’s good news.”
Nakamba has played 64 times across all competitions for Aston Villa since his move from Club Brugge in the summer of 2019 after the club were promoted to the Premier League.
He has never been a consistent performer for the Midlands giants before strong performances under Gerrard towards the end of 2021.
In other news, Kieran Maguire has saluted Aston Villa after a ‘fantastic’ £56million document reveal.