Gianluca Scamacca was on the verge of joining Serie A giants Juventus before heading to the Premier League with West Ham United, the Italy international’s former striker tells Calciomercato.
What do the Hammers have to do to break that striker curse? One that has hung over the club like a dark cloud almost since the very beginning of the Gold and Sullivan era.
Enner Valencia, Marko Arnautovic and Sebastien Haller are among the many, many centre-forwards who endured difficult spells in claret-and-blue before going on to enjoy far more prolific patches elsewhere.
And while Scamacca’s debut season at the London Stadium has been impacted by injury, the £35 million number nine has looked a bit of an awkward fit under David Moyes; a lack of quality service meaning he has just three Premier League goals to show for his efforts.
Gianluca Scamacca could leave West Ham United already
According to La Repubblica, Scamacca is already considering offers to leave after just one season in England. AC Milan – who boast 36-year-old Olivier Giroud, 41-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the struggling Divock Origi among their striker options – are hoping to lure Scamacca back to Italy, though Calciomercato say that talks are yet to get underway.
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The report adds that West Ham’s £40 million asking price may be a bit steep for even Serie A’s most deep-pocketed clubs. Juventus are certainly unlikely to renew their interest at a time in which their own future is uncertain.
According to Paolo Paloni, Scamacca’s former agent, Juventus came within touching distance of Scamacca before investing £72 million on Dusan Vlahovic instead.
“Only the signature was missing,” Paloni says.
Scamacca has failed to get off the bench in any of West Ham’s last three Premier League games. The under-fire Moyes stuck with Michail Antonio again during the 2-0 UEFA Conference League victory over AEK Larnaca on Thursday night, rewarded with two well-taken finishes from his veteran frontman.
In other news, Thomas Tuchel warned against taking over ‘manager killers’ Tottenham Hotspur
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