Aston Villa have been desperately hunting for options to replace the myriad of injured stars at Villa Park. Unfortunately for manager Dean Smith, upon his boyhood club’s return to the Premier League, they have had to contend with long term injuries to goalkeeper Tom Heaton, midfielder John McGinn and striker Wesley Moraes. The first two players have quickly been replaced during the January window with the arrival of Pepe Reina and Danny Drinkwater, both on loan. The BBC have reported Smith could finally be close to completing the set after identifying Mbwana Samatta as a potential Wesley replacement.
The 27-year-old Tanzanian has been nothing short of prolific in the Belgian top-flight for Genk, and in total he has found the back of the net 43 times in 98 league appearances. This season he has seven goals in 20 Jupiler League appearances but has also scored three in six Champions League games, including one against Liverpool. His other two goals came against surprise package RB Salzburg, and the trio of strikes is a strong indication Samatta would not be out of his depth in the Premier League. While the English top-flight is an entirely different prospect to what the striker is used to in Belgium, with Jack Grealish putting opportunities on a plate, Samatta should be a successful replacement for Wesley.
Relative to the Villa target man this term, the Genk striker does not possess the same ability to bring other players around him into the game, averaging fewer than half the number of key passes. However, Samatta does record a higher number of passes, but with a worse accuracy than the Brazilian he could replace. It suggests that the 27-year-old is more accomplished with the ball at his feet but less of a focal point than Wesley. Their average number of shots per game are incredibly similar with the Genk striker taking on 1.8 efforts to Wesley’s 1.7, suggesting, Samatta would not be goal-shy in the English top-flight. Furthermore, the 27-year-old completes more dribbles than his Brazilian counterpart, but while Wesley relies upon his aerial presence that is not Samatta’s game.
There are likely to be few other striking options available to Aston Villa for £10m in the January window, and if Samatta can keep Smith’s side afloat, he would be saving them a fortune. He may not be in precisely the same mould as Wesley, but the 27-year-old has shown enough promise in the Champions League this season to suggest he would be worth investing in to fill the Brazilian’s void.
