Tanzanian poster boy Samatta vows to repay Villa trust

Aston Villa new goal-poacher Mbwana Samatta has vowed to help his new side turn the tables barely a day after he became the first Tanzanian player  to sign for an English Premier League (EPL) club in history.

Speaking hours after he penned a four-and-a-half-year deal worth Ksh1.1 billion (£10 million) with the relegation-threatened EPL outfit on Monday, the former Genk sensational centre-forward termed his move to the English league as A ‘dream come true’.

The 27-year-old star who before his switch to Villa Park was the Belgian First Division A league top scorer with 10 goals, vowed to replicate his fine form at his new club to help them rise from the relegation bracket. Aston Villa are currently lying 18th on the EPL table with 22 points.

“I’m happy to be first the Tanzanian in history to play in EPL because I believe it is the most followed league in our country and also in the world. Since I was young I used to dream of playing for Aston Villa and I’m relishing the challenge of helping my new team out of relegation zone,’’ an elated Sammatta told reporters.

The sensational striker  burst into the limelight last season after helping his immediate  former club Genk to clinch the Belgian league title for the fourth time where he was the league’s top scorer after racking 20 goals after 28 appearances.

The 2015 CAF best player based in African, also helped his former club reach the 2018/2019 Europa League round of 32 where he notched up nine in the 12 appearances he made.

The Tanzanian is expected to fill the void left by Brazilian Wesley who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee ligament injury which he picked against Burnley on  New Year’s Day.

Being the first Tanzanian player to ply his trade in the world’s most fancied league, the centre-forward has now proven to have many firsts after also he became the first player from the East African country to play in the Champions League and also the first to score in the competition, his goal coming against Liverpool at home.

He is also the second East African player to play in EPL after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and Kenyan Victor Wanyama who joined EPL from Celtic in 2013.