West Ham United are reportedly not ready to splash the cash to land Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca this summer.
According to Sportmediaset, Premier League side West Ham United are not ready to meet the €45 million asking price for Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca this summer.
The Italian international is coming off an excellent season that saw him net 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances. While the numbers might not appear too prolific, Scamacca’s performances have gone to another level in 2021/22.
This has brought him to the attention of several European club, one of them being West Ham. David Moyes’s side has enjoyed a resurgence in recent seasons and will once again participate in Europe in the 2022/23 campaign. They made it all the way to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League last season but were unable to find a way past eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Hammers found the net just once over both legs against the German outfit. West Ham’s overdependence on Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen in attack is clear for all to see, making them rather predictable to deal with. The former, in particular, remains Moyes’s lone senior specialist striker.
Bringing in another centre-forward is on the agenda, and it makes sense that Scamacca is being looked at by West Ham. A clinical finisher, the 23-year-old is also a force to be reckoned with in the air. As long as he continues to develop, there is every reason to believe that the Italian international striker might prove to be an inspired signing.
The Hammers, however, not sold on Sassuolo’s €45 million asking price. It is understandable, given that the 2021/22 campaign was Scamacca’s lone standout season by far. To splash the cash on a player who is today a one-season wonder is a risky business. With better-proven players like Arnaut Danjuma available for a similar price, there is no lack of alternatives either.
West Ham’s second-guessing is understandable given their bitter experience of having broken the club record transfer fee to land Sebastian Haller. The 28-year-old has been prolific before and after playing for West Ham, and his stint at the London Stadium remains a sore spot. The Hammers will be keen to avoid repeating history. After all, once bitten, twice shy.
