Right now, the Italian media are head over heels in love with Gianluca Scamacca. The 25-year-old has been finding the back of the net recently, including twice in the Europa League against Liverpool, and is being praised for his performances at Atalanta.
However, it hasn’t always been that way this season and earlier on in the campaign the Italian media were repeatedly grumbling about the move, the player’s approach to the game, and whether sending €25m to West Ham had been a good idea in the first place.
Now rather than questioning the transfer, Gazzetta dello Sport are bragging on behalf of Atalanta about what a good move it’s been, and how the Serie A club could easily make a big profit on what they sent to West Ham less than a year ago.
In their Friday edition, the Italian newspaper claim ‘Now the price is at least €60m’, and explain the striker is ‘progressing in his growth in a constant and impetuous manner’.
Atalanta’s decision to buy him from West Ham has been shown as a far-sighted work of transfer genius, backed up by his goals. Gazzetta even state: ‘The Goddess (Atalanta) managed to take away one of the richest players in terms of talent from the richest league in the world.’
Scamacca is said to be on a contract worth €2.5m a year (likely after tax) until 2027, and it’s believed that €60m valuation will rise if he has another good season at the Bergamo side.
Regarding previous worries about his attitude, those are dismissed: ‘Scamacca has begun a process of transformation on and off the pitch. If until some time ago you could hear the echo of the definition of “bad boy” about him, that echo has been disappearing for some time now.’
This is perhaps one of those deals which has worked out well for everyone. West Ham clearly thought his time in London should be short, and got a reasonable fee back. The player wanted the move and after early issues has been able to capitalise.
