The striker never settled at the London Stadium.
West Ham United spent big on Gianluca Scamacca in last year’s summer transfer window, with the striker having been let go ahead of the current campaign.
Scamacca struggled to settle at West Ham, but ever since returning to Italy has refound his form.
Despite Scamacca scoring regularly for Atalanta, it’s suggested West Ham won’t regret letting him go, even if the Hammers are tipped to sign a striker in January.
West Ham United won’t be regretting the sale of Gianluca Scamacca, despite the Italian international having found goalscoring form since joining Atalanta in the summer, journalist Paul Brown suggested to GIVEMESPORT.
Scamacca spent just one season at the London Stadium, but it was clear pretty much from the off that the £35.5 million signing didn’t settle to life in the Premier League. Joining from Serie A side Sassuolo, Scamacca made just 27 appearances for the Hammers, netting eight goals during that time.
Now, having found form once again back in his native Italy, there are some suggestions that West Ham might be regretting letting him leave. But Brown doesn’t think that is necessarily the case.
Scamacca in sparkling form in Serie A
It’s always a risk clubs take when letting an under-performing player leave, but it’s safe to say on the back of his West Ham exit, Scamacca has certainly found form once again. In just 14 outings for Atalanta this season, Scamacca has almost matched his goal tally for the entirety of his spell at West Ham, with the striker having scored six times across all competitions.
That’s despite a string of injury problems that have disrupted his campaign so far, with hamstring and abductor problems keeping him out of action for short periods of time. Nevertheless, Scamacca has been playing like a completely different striker to the one that looked out of sorts at West Ham last season.
Antonio claim vindicated after Scamacca exit
The mismatch was something that Scamacca’s West Ham teammates themselves were able to pick up on, with Michail Antonio openly criticising the signing while the Italian was at the club.
Speaking on the Filfthy Fellas podcast, Antonio said:
“He is actually quality, he is a quality player. The problem is, he can not play the way the manager wants to play.
“He needs a different type of manager who will let him play with players to come off him and stuff like that.
West Ham United striker Michail Antonio
“You see that, the ball comes to him, and it sticks. But with David Moyes, you have to feed off scraps, be a fighter… and he’s not that.”
Deemed a damning indictment at the time, Antonio’s claim appears to have been vindicated, given Scamacca left the club just a couple of months later. But despite Scamacca’s improved form back in Serie A, it’s suggested West Ham are happy with their decision to let him go and don’t regret sanctioning his exit.
Paul Brown update – Gianluca Scamacca
When quizzed on Scamacca’s form for Atalanta and whether West Ham made a mistake by letting him leave, journalist Brown revealed there was no hint of regret in the Hammers’ hierarchy, given the stylistic differences between the player and manager Moyes. Backing up Antonio’s claim that Scamacca wasn’t the right fit for West Ham, the reliable reporter told GIVEMESPORT:
“It was a strange signing because he never really seemed to fit what Moyes wants from a centre forward and I remember Michail Antonio saying that famously on a podcast. I think he was right.
“That being said, it was clear for quite a long time that Scamacca wanted to leave West Ham, so they didn’t really have a whole lot of choice about what to do with him. They eventually tried to get the best deal they could and let him go but he was clear that he wanted to leave the club.
“I don’t think there’ll be regretting it because there’s no point hanging on to a player that doesn’t want to play for you. I think he’s a good player, I think it was a shame it didn’t work out, but I don’t ever think he really fitted the style that Moyes plays at West Ham.”
