Player #943 for Aston Villa, Mbwana Ally Samatta, played as a centre forward for the club during the 2019-20 Premier League campaign.

Samatta was born in Dar es Salam, Tanzania on 23 December 1992 and became the first Tanzanian to play either for Villa or a top flight club in English football.

Villa had signed Samatta from KRC Genk on 20 January 2020 at the age of 27 for a fee of £10,530,000 and he made his Villa debut in the EFL Cup Semi Final Second Leg victory over Leicester City at Villa Park on 28 January 2020. Mbwana was unlucky not to score and combined with his strong display of hold up play his debut was a promising one.

However, Samatta, famed for his heading prowess, went on to score just twice in 14 appearances as he struggled to bring his form to the Premier League.

Mbwana did however have the honour of scoring for Villa in a Cup final at Wembley, scoring on 41’ on Sunday, 1 March 2020 in the EFL Cup final versus Manchester City. Villa ended up unlucky losers that day but Mbwana and his team-mates came out with great credit and reputations enhanced.

Mbwana had scored his first goal for Villa in the defeat to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, 1 February 2020.

With no further goals forthcoming, Samatta was initially restricted to the substitutes bench once football resumed after the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic however Samatta soon won his first team place back and was an ever present for the final 5 games of the season as Villa successfully avoided relegation.

Samatta made just a single unused substitute appearance in the 2020-21 campaign in the EFL Cup win over Burton Albion on Tuesday, 15 September 2020 before moving on to Fenerbahçe SK on an initial loan in September 2020 with an option for a permanent transfer in July 2021 for a fee of £5.4m.

Samatta had played under manager Dean Smith.

In his own words, Mbwana reflected on his time with Villa and 2020 in general saying “I feel proud, yet somehow I feel like it has been a shit year.”

“I didn’t do what they thought I could do. I couldn’t find the net after the COVID (lockdown), but it was hard because the team were struggling.”

“We couldn’t do much more. The whole team was not doing so great. We were struggling. The pressure was high. We had to stay in the league. We know the strikers were supposed to do more than that but look at the statistics, it was hard for every player.”

“We didn’t do so well but we got enough points to stay in the league. I didn’t understand why they had to change so much after that.”

“The feeling was great when we stayed up. It was our first priority and we made it. I was thinking, next season I will be ready. I want to prove to everybody that I can play in the Premier League and that I can score goals. I want to make sure that everything is going my way. I was prepared to make myself ready for that.”

“It was a surprise [being advised to go out on loan] I didn’t expect that conversation at all. I was on holiday and I was told that they [Villa] were going to bring in a new striker and spend a lot of money on one or two others. They said that it would be difficult for me, in my position, to be guaranteed games.”

“I was clear that I wanted to play, that I wanted to show it. I still have belief that I can do it. I wanted to stay but then came an offer from Fenerbahçe. It was a good offer for me. I had an agreement with Villa. They signed a new striker. I spoke to the coach and he was crystal clear about the situation; that he knows the player [Ollie Watkins] well and that he would be a priority, so he couldn’t guarantee me time to play.

“He said, it is better that you go and play football rather than just sitting on the bench or in the stands watching other people playing football.”

Reflecting on his EFL Cup Final experience Mbwana recalled “Everything about the final was just amazing. The goal. The atmosphere. The opponent. It was fantastic. I couldn’t believe that I was the one to score that goal in the middle of Wembley. The Villa supporters were really excited from that moment on.”

“I just don’t know how to describe this year. It’s just been… just a strange year. When I moved from Belgium to the Premier League, it was the best moment of my life. It was in my dreams. But then, I don’t know what happened — all of a sudden I’m in Turkey. I didn’t think this year was going to end like this.

“I was happy with moving to the Premier League. I made the best move of my life. I can look at that with pride, but still also say, it’s been a bit shit.”

“I’m just proud that I still play football.”

As at the turn of 2021, Samatta had scored twice in 11 outings for Fenerbahçe having gone on a nine-game goal drought since his first two goals came in his second match for the club.