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Samatta: Fenerbahce, Galatasaray eager to sign Tanzanian forward from Aston Villa
The Taifa Stars skipper has struggled for form since football returned in England and the Turkish giants could offer him a smooth exit
Tanzania captain Mbwana Samatta could be on his way out of Aston Villa as Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Galatasaray have reportedly developed an interest in him.
Birmingham Mail has reported the Taifa Stars skipper could be granted permission to leave the club at the end of the current campaign that is almost ending.
Samatta scored against Bournemouth and Manchester City after just signing for Dean Smith’s side but he has failed to regain his form since football resumed.
He is under immense pressure to deliver goals for Aston Villa especially after he has failed to do so since the club resumed their league assignments.
The Tanzanian was signed by the Birmingham club to help fill the void that was left when Brazilian striker Wesley Moraes got injured at the start of the year.
Birmingham Mail reports further indicate Fenerbahce are ready to offer the former Simba SC centre-forward a loan deal first.
A deal, according to the publication, between the Turkish giants and the player has already been agreed on.
Aston Villa signed the former TP Mazembe star from KRC Genk after good performances with the Belgian side.
Meanwhile, Samatta’s captain Jack Grealish explained the difference in the team before and after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since we’ve come back, we’ve deserved more than we’ve got. We had certain things before Covid-19 that we were struggling with – one of them being set-pieces,” Grealish told the club’s website.
“We conceded too many goals, and over that time [during lockdown] we had Zoom calls twice a week and once we were back in training, we were working on it every single day.
“Since we’ve been back, we’ve defended brilliantly and we’ve also been brilliant from set-pieces, so it shows we’ve been working hard.
“The ball’s in our court now, so it’s up to us what we do on the last day now. Nothing’s done yet and we have a massive game on Sunday against West Ham. We’ll be giving our all again.”
The win against Arsenal on Wednesday, which is the first one against the Gunners since 1998, helped Aston Villa move out of the bottom three for the first time since February.
