A striker West Ham want learned from the very best after being personally trained by Man United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy as a kid.
Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca has been one of West Ham’s prime targets this summer.
After a torrid week on and off the pitch for David Moyes there was some good news from Italy on Friday regarding West Ham’s move for Scamacca.
Yesterday Hammers News highlighted excerpts from a Sky Sports interview with Scamacca’s old youth coach which make very encouraging reading as he was compared to former Manchester United ace Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Man United have often had a big Dutch influence in their sides down the years.
The likes of Jaap Stam, van Nistelrooy, Edwin van der Sar, Robin van Persie, Daley Blind, Louis van Gaal and now of course new Man United boss Erik ten Hag.
But it seems one particular Dutch Man United legend may have inadvertently played a big hand in the success of West Ham’s long-awaited next striker signing.
With West Ham allegedly closing on signing Scamacca from Sassuolo, West Ham fans may be interested in one particular part of the 23-year-old 6ft 5in forward’s back story.
Because the striker West Ham want learned from the very best after being personally trained by Man United legend van Nistelrooy as a kid.
And it touches on the striker’s decision as a teenager to leave Roma’s academy and join PSV Eindhoven.
In light of West Ham’s interest in Scamacca, Pascal Jansen – the coach of PSV’s academy at the time of the Italian’s arrival – was interviewed about the striker by Sky Sports.
And Jansen revealed Scamacca had personal striker tuition from Man United hero van Nistelrooy – who scored a staggering 400+ goals in 662 career games for club and country, including 150 in 219 appearances for the Red Devils.
“Ruud van Nistelrooy knew everything there is to know about scoring goals,” Sky Sports reports.
“They were assistant coaches working across the different age groups. Van Nistelrooy had a specific eye for the attackers,” Jensen told Sky Sports when discussing West Ham target Scamacca’s rise at PSV.
“It is the level of coaching but also the infrastructure. It is well organised. You are playing against the best talents from around the country. Good games.
“His instinct in front of goal was his strength back then and it is his strength now. He was strong with his head, obviously, because that was the skill that he had developed from a young age.
“Other aspects of forward play needed more work at that stage. The speed of the game and the technical abilities were the major challenges for him. We (Jensen and van Nistelrooy) worked with him to make sure that his footwork was ready, his agility, his touch and his movement.”
If you are a striker making your way in the game there are not many better to learn from than Man United legend van Nistelrooy.
So if West Ham can pull off a deal to bring Scamacca to the London Stadium and he hits it off, it will be in no small part thanks to the work he did with one of the great forwards Man United and the Premier League have seen.
If Scamacca can be half the player van Nistelrooy was then West Ham will be making a sensational signing.
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