Mbwana Samatta fired Genk to the Jupiler League title last season but can Championship outfit Boro really afford him?
Middlesbrough are interested in signing Genk striker Mbwana Samatta, according to the Northern Echo, in a move which could fix the club’s ailing attack.
Goals were in short supply for Boro last season with the lack of a reliable goalscorer or two costing them a place in the Championship play-offs. Even Rotherham United, who were relegated in May, scored more than a Tony Pulis side who found the net just 49 times in 46 games.
So, on paper at least, Samatta could be a potentially game-changing addition for a team looking to move away from the pragmatism of the Pulis regime.
The Tanzania international struck 32 times in all competitions for Genk last season, including 20 in 28 league games to fire his side to the Jupiler League title.
Samatta capped a superb campaign by winning the division’s Golden Boot award and, if he could maintain such outstanding form in England, you’d imagine Middlesbrough would be in amongst the top six in the next few months.
Whether Samatta will actually end up at the Riverside is another matter.
The Sun claimed recently that he is also a target for a number of Premier League clubs and, at £12 million, he would be Boro’s third biggest signing ever behind Afonso Alves and Britt Assombalonga.
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