David Moyes is fuelling the Gianluca Scamacca speculation as the West Ham striker is left on the bench yet again.
There was much excitement at West Ham after the signing of Italy striker Scamacca from Sassuolo for £35m in the summer.
Scamacca had shown Hammers fans some glimpses of his class, quality and unerring finishing power before being derailed by illness earlier this season.
Then just as he was getting up to speed after the World Cup break he was hit by a knee injury which kept him out of West Ham contention for two months.
Despite being available for the last couple of weeks, Scamacca has barely been used by Moyes.
Last week the Italian hit the headlines after being dropped by the agency which brokered his move to West Ham.
We reported on Hammers News the real reason behind that split.
But that has not stopped speculation that the striker wants to leave the club in the summer.
The latest claim from Gazzetta dello Sport (print edition March 9th) is that the Italian star is keen to return to his homeland after just one season at West Ham.
Unverified gossip has suggested Scamacca has had a fallout with Moyes behind the scenes.
So when the Scot did not bring him on in the 4-0 defeat to Brighton – despite Michail Antonio being unavailable due to a hamstring injury – it only fanned the flames of that particular fire.
Many West Ham fans assumed that may have been because the game was gone and Scamacca was being saved to spearhead the Europa Conference League last 16 clash with AEK Larnaca.
But Moyes is fuelling the Scamacca speculation as the West Ham striker is left on the bench yet again.
The team news is in and Moyes has made seven changes from the side which started against Brighton – as Hammers News stated he should earlier this week.
But Scamacca has once again been left kicking his heels on the bench.
If West Ham were freescoring and beating all comers then fans might understand Moyes making Scamacca wait for his reintroduction to the team.
But perhaps there is no smoke without fire when it comes to the recent rumours and speculation over the striker wanting a move back to Italy.
It will be interesting to see whether Scamacca gets any game time with Danny Ings also on the bench.
MORE WEST HAM NEWS
Boss lifts lid on details of Coufal injury issue and gets major Bowen boost.
‘Sacked in summer regardless’ claim made about Moyes in site’s update from sources.
Report makes surprising claim over what key players have told board about Moyes.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
