Dean Smith’s Aston Villa will need Mbwana Samatta and Jack Grealish to form a partnership if they are to survive the threat of Premier League relegation.
Mbwana Samatta is thrilled to be playing alongside the ‘brilliant’ Jack Grealish at Aston Villa, the £8.5 million January signing has admitted to Villa TV.
A former Genk talisman was handed a front-row seat as a floppy-haired play-maker produced one of the finest individual performances in Aston Villa’s recent history.
Grealish was verging on the world-class during the recent 2-1 EFL Cup semi-final victory over Leicester City. And, on another day, Samatta might have capped his debut in English football with a goal after the influential skipper picked him out with a cross that had to be seen to be believed with his wand of a right foot.
It is no surprise, then, that Grealish has made a real impression on his new teammate.
“Jack is very good with the ball, he is brilliant,” said Samatta.
“Sometimes he will look for the one-two and other times he wants you to give him space so that he can beat a defender, so I try to adapt and have a good connection.”
The Tanzania international netted a remarkable 32 goals in all competitions last season, firing Genk to the Belgian top flight title, before finding the target three times in six Champions League group-stage matches in the autumn.
Samatta is already a real favourite among his new supporters at Aston Villa with his fearsome leap and relentless work-rate striking a chord on the terraces. And Grealish, you would imagine, will relish the prospect of providing ammunition aplenty for the club’s new hit man.
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