Aston Villa are showing an interest in signing Genk striker Mbwana Samatta, as reported by HLN.

What's the story?

Dean Smith and his colleagues reportedly see the 27-year-old as a potential replacement for Wesley, who is out injured until the end of the season.

There are still details that need to be completed and agreed upon, but there is hope that things could be completed by the end of the weekend, with the fee touted as being €10m [£8.5m].

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In the Jupiler Pro League, the striker has scored seven goals from 17 starts and three substitute appearances, this season while he also added three goals from six Champions League games.

Notably, one of those came against Liverpool, when he powered the ball from Bryan Heynen's corner past Alisson with his front-post header.

Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right....

Breaking new ground

This signing would make history, as Samatta would become the first player from Tanzania to ever play in the Premier League.

He already represents his country well, captaining their national team, while he has managed to score 14 goals and register four assists from 39 games representing his nation.

Seeing him sign for a Premier League club would be a different kind of representation for the country. Villa have already seen the impact this can have when they signed Marvelous Nakamba during the summer, with there being plenty of reaction from Zimbabwe.

With this being the first-ever player to join the Premier League from Tanzania, there could be an even greater reaction from Samatta's home country.

That will, of course, not be the reason that Villa opts to sign him though, as the hope will be that the 27-year-old will help fire the team to safety if he does make the move to Villa Park.

Meanwhile, Alan Hutton spoke about a Villa prospect's recent inclusion in the first-team setup.