West Ham announced the signing of Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo for £35 million, but Eurosport Italy have cautioned there is much for him to prove in England.
The 23-year-old arrives in England having recorded his best goalscoring haul of his career, notching 16 goals for his Serie A side.
He has taken an unusual route to his first big move, having moved to PSV Jong, the Dutch side’s second string team that plays in the Netherlands’ second division, and after return to Italy, he again had another spell in the country as he was loaned to PEC Zwolle.
Davide Bighiani of Eurosport Italy said there were plenty of unusual aspects to the 6’5” striker, but he had plenty to offer besides being a target man.
Bighiani warned: “When we talk about Scamacca we are talking about a guy who has in fact three full seasons as a starting player – one year in Serie B and two in Serie A – and only 42 career goals.
“If he manages to overcome the period of adaptation to the new championship unscathed, he could become an interesting player, since he combines his physicality with good technique.
“His physicality will probably allow him to adapt more easily to the English championship: moreover he is a striker who does not play only for the goal but for the team.”
With Jarrod Bowen the main striker at the London Stadium, Scamacca could be used not just as a central striker but could also play a more creative role.
“Scamacca is certainly a central striker who knows how to score goals in every way: with his head for sure, but also in acrobatics and from outside the box, “ Bighiani writes. “But he’s not a typical number nine, he can start further back too.”
Bighiani also pointed out that his time in the Netherlands was in fact quite brief.
“Scamacca has already had two experiences abroad: one in the youth teams of PSV and one in PEC Zwolle but very fleeting,” he explained. “Paradoxically, he has accumulated more international football experience with the youth jerseys of Italy, with which he made the whole process, starting from the U15 up to the senior national team. He is still to be tested on international grounds at club level.”
