David Moyes looks to have been vindicated as Gianluca Scamacca’s struggles continue after his embarrassing Italy snub.
West Ham boss David Moyes has taken a lot of stick over his handling of now departed striker Gianluca Scamacca.
West Ham paid an initial £30.5m to sign Scamacca from Sassuolo last summer. But he was sold to Atalanta for £3m less just one year later.
The move simply did not work out as he or the Hammers would have hoped.
Illness, injuries and a clear lack of research on the type of striker Scamacca is and what he would bring to the team left both the player and Moyes frustrated.
‘He didn’t want to be here’
The Italy forward had been linked with a third of the clubs in Serie A since changing agents earlier this year.
Moyes insisted he wanted to keep the Italian with the perma-frown. But the Scot revealed the 24-year-old simply did not want to be at West Ham and had refused to do his injury rehabilitation in England.
“We liked the boy and we are disappointed it didn’t work out,” Moyes said when explaining the Scamacca sale.
“But he didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be in England, and he had all his rehabilitation in Italy when we wanted him to have it here.”
David Moyes vindicated as Gianluca Scamacca’s struggles continue after embarrassing Italy snub
When Scamacca scored two goals on his first start for Atalanta earlier this month, West Ham fans’ fears that he could turn out to be another Sebastien Haller looked well founded.
But Moyes looks vindicated as Scamacca’s struggles continue after his embarrassing Italy snub.
Despite returning to his homeland and bagging two goals on his first start, Scamacca lost his place in the Italy squad for the September internationals.
New Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti named EIGHT forwards in his first squad. And he included Championship striker Wilfried Gnonto and 33-year-old Ciro Immobile – an unpopular pick among Italy fans – ahead of Scamacca.
All too familiar story for Scamacca as snubbed striker is sent for scans
Then Scamacca found himself in familiar territory to his time at West Ham. Because he was named on the Atalanta bench for their latest match against Fiorentina after the international break.
He was brought on around the hour mark with the score at 2-2. But it was the team the Hammers vanquished in the Europa Conference League final who emerged victorious as they netted a 76th minute winner.
Worse still for Scamacca, he picked up yet another injury during his half an hour of action in that defeat.
And Calciomercato claim he is being sent for scans on the issue with the striker almost certainly set for another spell on the sidelines. Starting with Atalanta’s Europa League opener on Thursday night.
Perhaps West Ham and Moyes made the right call on the Italian after all.
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