Luton Town Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is the second Hatters player to be linked with a move to English Championship football side Sheffield Wednesday during the January transfer window.
With the Owls already believed to be closing in on the loan addition of striker Jerry Yates, then the Hillsborough club, who are destined for relegation this term, are also rumoured to be looking at the possible arrival of the former Aston Villa and Club Brugge player to bolster their midfield options.
Having joined Town on loan in January 2023, Nakamba was an integral part of the Hatters’ promotion to the English Premier League, but has struggled hugely with injuries since.
He was restricted to just 14 outings in the top flight campaign, before featuring 23 times as Luton also dropped out of the Championship last season, and has made just four domestic appearances this season, one for former boss Matt Bloomfield when coming off the bench in the 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers and then three since new manager Jack Wilshere was appointed, all of those coming in the Vertu Trophy.
He has played seven times for Zimbabwe this season, including starting all three of their recent Africa Cup of Nations matches, as a report on the Sheffield Star stated the the Owls could give him a route back to English football again, saying: “The Star is also of the understanding that
Wednesday are weighing up interest in adding another Hatter to their squad, with exploratory talks having taken place over the possible loan addition of midfielder Marvelous Nakamba.
“A former Aston Villa man, who features alongside Owls youngster Sean Fusire in international football as captain of Zimbabwe, has fallen down the pecking order at Luton Town.
“Other clubs are said to be interested in offering the 32-year-old a fresh start and at this stage any likelihood of a deal to bring him to Hillsborough is not yet clear.
“The Owls are understood to be looking at a number of players in their bid to make their squad as strong as possible in what is a doomed campaign.
“Should his fitness hold up, Nakamba would stand to offer experience to a midfield stripped of legendary captain Bannan. Midfield figures Yan Valery and Svante Ingelsson are understood to be possible departures.”
Since returning to England from the tournament in Morocco, Nakamba has played just once, that when coming off the bench in the Vertu Trophy against Swindon Town where he made his 61st appearance for Luton in total, completing around 20 minutes in the second period.
Speaking before the competition, Hatters boss Wilshere had said about his availability going forward: “He comes back into the training, into the group.
“When you have a period like this, we need to see how he is as well as he hasn’t played that much football. Before I got here, then I can’t comment on that as I didn’t know what happened. It was a question that was asked of me, how’s Marv? Is he fit? And he probably wasn’t quite fit enough to play. He missed a little bit of pre-season, but we did look at this and say, right he’s going to go away, have three games, so let’s see how he comes back.”
