EXCLUSIVE
GOOD BUSINESS
West Ham-bound Gianluca Scamacca was coached by Man United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, turned down PSG and is ‘made for Premier League’
West Ham's imminent new signing Gianluca Scamacca is ‘hungry’ for success and is 'built' for the Premier League.
talkSPORT has been given an insider view of the Sassuolo striker, who looks set to make the next step of his well-travelled career - despite being only 23 - by joining the Hammers.
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West Ham have agreed a £35million deal for Scamacca, with the Italy international flying to east London for his medical.
He will join David Moyes’ side on the back of scoring 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances last season, in a campaign which saw him hailed as one of the country’s top young attacking talents.
That breakthrough was a long time coming, with the boyhood Lazio and Roma player leaving the capital to seek more regular football in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, where he was coached by Manchester United legend and Premier League Golden Boot winner Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy has been credited with helping develop Tottenham’s Heung-min Son into the goalscorer he is today, having helped coach him during their spell together as teammates at Hamburg.
It appears he had a huge impact on Scamacca too, with the young Italian boasting many of the attributes that made Van Nistelrooy one of the best centre-forwards in Premier League history.
Standing at 6ft 4in, Scamacca is known in Italy for his hold up play but, despite his height, still boasts speed and agility and is a superb all-round frontman who scores all types of goals.
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After snubbing interest from Paris Saint-Germain, he is now set to join West Ham, where Italian football expert Daniele Fisichella expects him to take the English top flight by storm.
“They’re getting a very, very good player who is hungry for more,” he told talkSPORT’s Transfer Euro Express.
“He’s got good technique and is strongly built. I think he’s the most Premier League-like player Serie A has produced in a long, long while.
“He’s big. There is only one taller striker in Serie A, and that’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic - after that it’s Scamacca.
“He’s very good with his feet, he scores very acrobatic goals as well.
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“This is a player who had a choice whether to go to PSG or somewhere else, but I think he made the right choice. At PSG he probably would not have played all the games, but at West ham I would imagine him to play a lot more.
“He needs a bit more international experience, which West Ham can give him because they play in Europe.
“During his career he has always been keen to prove himself. When he was very young, 16 years old, he was playing for the youth team of Roma, he decided to emigrate and go to the Netherlands to play for the second team of PSV, because he wanted game time.
“He was successful there. He had a very good manager, a certain Van Nistelrooy - which always helps!
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“He also had another spell in the Dutch league with FC Twente, this time playing senior football, before his return to Italy.
“I like the fact he has taken very good [career] choices, perhaps choices many players would not have made. Maybe a lot of players would have preferred to stay in Italy, but there weren't many teams going for him. Perhaps AC Milan would have been one of them, but they decided to go for Divock Origi from Liverpool instead.
“So it’s good for Scamacca, and I think also good business for West Ham.”
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