The 28-year-old Taifa Stars captain is not sure of his return to Villa Park after what happened when he was loaned out to the Turkish giants
Tanzania striker Mbwana Samatta has claimed he is not sure of the reception he will receive at Premier League side Aston Villa after completing his loan spell with Fenerbahce.
The 28-year-old forward was loaned out to the Turkish Super Lig side having joined the Villans for £8.5million from Belgian top-flight side Genk, however, he failed to make the desired impact in England, scoring just twice in 16 appearances.
The decision by Villa to loan out the player was not received well back home in Tanzania where the fans reacted angrily by criticising the move which saw the Premier League outfit lose over 30k followers on Instagram in the first 24 hours after the loan deal was confirmed.
Immediately after the transfer was announced, Tanzanians descended on the Villa Instagram page to unfollow it, with most of them saying they are now heading to Turkey with “our son.”
Following the incident, Samatta has stated he is not sure what kind of reception he will get at Villa Park when he returns for pre-season.
What has been said?
In a question and answer session as covered by JAYM-Sport, the Taifa Stars captain explained when asked about his return to Villa: “After leaving Villa many Tanzanians talked too much hate about the team and for that reason, I don’t know when I go back how they will receive me.
“I don’t know if they [Aston Villa] will welcome me with open hearts or they will chase me away but I don’t think I will be able to stay because a lot of Tanzanians talked too much hate when I was loaned out and I now don’t know if they will be happy to see me return, or they will hate me.”
Samatta joined Villa on January 20, 2020, after signing a four-and-half-year contract to become the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League and also the 117th different nationality to play in the competition.
The transfer fee paid to Genk was reported as £8.5 million and he went on to make his debut for the club eight days later in Villa’s 2–1 EFL Cup semi-final second-leg win over Leicester City, a result which sealed the club’s place in the final of the competition.
On February 1, 2020, Samatta scored on his league debut for Aston Villa, in a 2–1 defeat to Bournemouth, and this made him the first player from Tanzania to play, and subsequently score in the Premier League.
The arrival of Ollie Watkins and Burkina Faso international Bertrand Traore meant Samatta was surplus to requirements in Dean Smith’s squad, hence, he was loaned to the Turkish Super Lig outfit.
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