West Ham are reportedly interested in Genk striker Mbwana Samatta, along with Newcastle United.

BBC Sport reports that the Hammers are eyeing a move for the Tanzania international, who has made a good name for himself this season after scoring against Liverpool in the Champions League earlier this week (per BBC Sport).

The report also goes on to state that the 26-year-old striker also has a release clause of just £10m, which could be the reason as to why Newcastle are also interested in Samatta.

With eight goals in all competitions this season, as per stats from Transfermarkt, Samatta is enjoying a good second campaign in Belgium following from a year when the Genk attacker hit a whopping 32 goals in 51 appearances for the Champions League club (per Transfermarkt).

Indeed, it makes sense as to why the Hammers would be interested in a player of Samatta’s goalscoring abilities, with Manuel Pellegrini’s side only scoring 14 goals in the league this year - the same amount as Burnley and Brighton and two fewer than Aston Villa (per the Premier League’s official website).

To make matters worse, club-record signing Sebastien Haller has also been an enigma of sorts for West Ham since his arrival this summer, with stats from Transfermarkt seemingly showing that the former Eintracht Frankfurt star is yet to settle fully to life in England as the attacker has only managed four goals in 10 games for the Irons this season.

Whilst it makes sense that Haller will remain West Ham’s number-one striker for the remainder of the season, a backup to the Frenchman is something Pellegrini is reportedly looking into according to Claret and Hugh, and Samatta would be a sensible option.

The Tanzania international has proved this season to be able to score against some of the best teams in Europe, as well as score consistently in a top division on the continent, and for £10m - just £1m more than what West Ham reportedly spent on Manuel Lanzini according to the Guardian, Samatta could be a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Hammers.

West Ham fans, will the club bring in a backup striker this summer? Let us know!