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Why Dean Smith should place his faith in Villa’s latest recruit for Carabao Cup success – opinion

Aston Villa host Leicester City this evening in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with the struggling Premier League side just 90 minutes from a third trip to Wembley Stadium in as many seasons. To ensure that Villa achieve the hat-trick of appearances at the national stadium, having been involved in the past two Championship play-off finals, manager Dean Smith should thrust the West Midlands side’s latest recruit, Mbwana Samatta straight into the starting line up, instead of searching for an alternative of those acclimatised to the club.

The Tanzanian striker arrived this month from Belgian side Genk for a reported fee of around £10m and should be thrust straight into the starting eleven this evening, with Jonathan Kodjia having left the Premier League side to join Al Gharafa for £2.7m. It is somewhat surprising that Aston Villa let the Ivorian leave considering their only other natural striker Wesley Moraes has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Samatta has been enjoying a fruitful campaign in the Belgian Jupiler League, scoring on seven occasions in 17 starts for the sixth-place side. But where he has impressed most this season was in a particularly challenging Champions League group which contained Liverpool, Napoli and RB Salzburg. Despite Genk finishing bottom of the group, the 27-year-old forward found the back of the net three times in six appearances, which highlights his ability to provide the goals at the elite level. Furthermore, during those six matches, Samatta averaged 1.8 shots per game, which is greater than Wesley’s average of 1.7 at a comparable standard. His outstanding record of a goal every other game in Europe this season means that the 27-year-old is ready to lead the line from the off, instead of trialling a strikerless system.

Only Smith will know if the player is ready to assume a role in the starting eleven immediately for what is such a decisive match. But if Samatta can replace the influence of the absent Wesley, then he could instantly become a Villa fan favourite. Should the Tanzanian provide the goals to fire the struggling side to a first major final in five years, it will be a historic debut the new arrival would never forget. Ultimately his goal record in Belgian and Europe speaks for itself, and he should be given a chance to write himself into Aston Villa history.

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