Mbwana Ally Samatta – now of Aston Villa – will be the first Tanzanian player to play in the Premier League.

Samatta completed an £10 million move to Aston Villa from Genk – a move that is not only a big deal for Villa – a team without a striker – but a massive one for the people of Tanzania.

In an interview with BBC Sport Africa , the Tanzanian forward discussed his goals, his influence and his strive for personal success.

“I would be lying to say I haven’t succeeded in life. But then I have a different perspective on life from what I was used to, I still have bigger dreams – this is Genk, not Barcelona or Madrid.”

His Samagoal77 Instagram account  has a follower count about the size of Birmingham’s population itself – 1.2 million. It should come as no surprise then that the forward was voted as  Tanzania’s most influential young person  just a few years ago.

That’s an important position for Samatta – you don’t see many Tanzanian footballers plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues.

The forward realised his influence shortly after winning the African Champions League with Congolese side TP Mazembe.

“Having succeeded in Africa I was motivated. I wanted to push myself to a higher level before I pushed my fellow countrymen”

“If you look at my Instagram posts, I seek to advise young people about life and how to succeed”

Aston Villa fans were delighted to see the striker announced:

CLICK TO PLAY“ABOUT TIME!” – ASTON VILLA FINALLY HAVE A STRIKER AS ALLY SAMATTA SIGNS

The responsibility that the striker carries is similar to that of current Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba – and Samatta knows it.

Now that he’s at the Villa, the eyes of Tanzania turn towards Aston. Here’s what Samatta’s faithful following had to say about their ‘champion boy’:

Timoth Mwambungu: Yes, you got us for sure. Loving this team. “HAINA KUFELI = NO failing” that’s his slogan.

Baba: We Tanzanians are proud of you. You have only one task of putting the ball at the back of the net. Let me go find a Villa jersey!

Joseph: God is good!

Thomas: Congratulations brother Samatta.

Aston Villa latest

This is your round up of all things Villa; the one-stop shop that will keep you updated on the latest goings on at the club and beyond.

Transfers, injuries, match-days and managers, we’ve got you covered.

We’ll be bringing the very latest on the Villains throughout the week and around the clock.

Make sure you keep yourself updated with our handy daily catch up…

Kijana: Official: I Join Aston Villa as a fan!

Badru: Champion boy!

Maneno: All Tanzanian we Support Aston villa now•••

Paulo: Now we love Aston Villa. We are AVFC fans!

Charlz: Could you please create a Swahili twitter account and give me the deal of translation. This will help to reach more East African fans who’re joining to support AVFC after the signing in of our brother Samatta #HainaKufeli #TheNextIsNow #StayFocused

Karibu Samatta!