Magpies chasing Genk hitman

Newcastle are the latest club to express an interest in Genk striker Mbwana Samatta as Steve Bruce looks to add goals to his squad. The Magpies are the second lowest-scoring team in the Premier League after 11 games of the 2019-20 campaign.
They have hit the back of the net on just nine occasions with a third of those coming in the 3-2 win over West Ham at the London Stadium last weekend.
Only bottom of the table Watford have scored fewer and it’s not surprising that Bruce is already eyeing up some of his options ahead of the January transfer window.
Newcastle took a massive gamble in paying £40million for Hoffenheim striker Joelinton over the summer and he has failed to deliver.
The Brazilian has netted just once in 11 outings, scoring in the 1-0 win over Tottenham, but Bruce can’t drop him due to a lack of competition in the forward line.
Summer signing Andy Carroll has been restricted to five appearances from the bench due to injury, while Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto haven’t featured heavily in his plans.
Midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, who started his first game since September in the win over West Ham, is the club’s top scorer with two to his name.
Samatta has been touted as the man to come in and solve their issues in the final third and he could be available for a knockdown price.
Reports claim he has a release clause of just £10million in his current deal with Genk and that makes the Tanzania international a very attractive prospect.
His goalscoring record is also a big selling point and a key factor in explaining why a number of clubs are keen on his services.
The 26-year-old was the top scorer in the Belgian league last season, hitting 25 goals as Genk won the title, while he has already bagged eight times across all competitions this term.
It’s understood that Newcastle had scouts in attendance to watch Samatta as he scored in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, reports also claim that West Ham have been keeping a close eye on his exploits and they could provide competition in the winter window.