West Bromwich Albion narrowly missed out on a place in the Championship play-offs last season as they finished three points off the top six.
Carlos Corberan, who arrived at the end of October 2022, was unable to drag his side into the promotion mix and the Spaniard may be hoping for better luck next term.
The former Huddersfield Town coach has just over two months left of the summer transfer window to build a squad that will be capable of fighting at the top end of the table over the next 12 months.
One player who has been linked with a move to The Hawthorns is a defensive midfielder from the Premier League. Journalist Darren Witcoop recently tweeted:
"West Brom keeping an eye on the future of Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba. The Zimbabwe midfielder was wanted by West Brom in January before joining Luton. Luton interested in re-signing Nakamba but Albion also have him on their summer list."
Would Marvelous Nakamba be a good signing for West Brom?
The Zimbabwe international would be a terrific addition to the squad as his performances on loan with the Hatters last season showcased his ability to be an excellent player in the Championship.
Nakamba's displays for Luton suggest that the quality is there for him to be a big upgrade on one of Corberan's midfielders from the 2022/23 campaign – Jake Livermore.
The Baggies veteran, who is set to officially leave the club on Saturday upon the expiry of his contract, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.7 across 17 league matches last term.
He scored one goal and created 0.2 chances per game for his teammates to go along with 1.6 tackles and interceptions per Championship outing – 0.8 of each. The 33-year-old dud did not rank in the top five performers for the club in either of the aforementioned defensive statistics, whilst his Sofascore rating placed him 19th among the squad.
Nakamba, who was described as a "Duracell battery" by Luton boss Rob Edwards, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.84 across 17 league games, which would have placed him in the top ten performers for the Baggies.
The 29-year-old battler also completed an eye-catching 3.8 tackles per game for the Hatters. This is 1.8 more than any other West Brom player managed, with Okay Yokuslu's club-leading two tackles per match looking relatively unimpressive in comparison to the Villa midfielder's contributions last term.
These statistics suggest that Nakamba would produce a higher standard of performance than Livermore every week, while also being able to win the ball back for his side far more frequently compared to the English enforcer and the rest of Corberan's squad.
This is why the Baggies head coach must work hard to secure a deal for the £30k-per-week stopper if Luton are unable to strike an agreement for his services.