Italy international Gianluca Scamacca admits it was ‘a dream to play in the Premier League’ after joining West Ham United. ‘It’s the perfect team for me.’
The centre-forward made the transfer from Sassuolo at a fee of €36m plus €6m in add-ons and a 10 per cent cut of any future transfer fee, all of which was confirmed by Neroverdi director of sport Giovanni Carnevali.
That translates to £30.27m plus £5.04m in bonuses.
“I am really excited to join West Ham,” Scamacca told WHUFC.com.
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment – it’s been a dream to play in the Premier League.”
He had been on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain, but the Hammers out-bid their €30m plus €5m bonuses proposal.
The Premier League is also arguably suited to Scamacca, who has been compared to his hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic and stands at 1.95m tall.
“I feel like West Ham is the perfect team for me. They showed they really wanted me and when I spoke to the manager there was an instant understanding.
“I can’t wait to play and show the supporters what I can do in the West Ham shirt – I hope we will love each other.”
There was a bit of a hiccup with his presentation, as West Ham unveiled a video using the classic 1990s Football Italia intro, only to spell his name Scammaca throughout.
West Ham have been seeking a new striker for a couple of seasons, so 23-year-old Scamacca fits the bill, having scored 16 goals in 36 Serie A games for Sassuolo last season.
“We’ve been looking to add more strength to our attacking options for a while, so we’re delighted to have got Gianluca in,” said manager David Moyes.
“He comes really well recommended – and we’re looking forward to working with him. He’s a young centre-forward with a really bright future ahead of him.”
Scamacca is from Rome and spent time in both the Lazio and Roma youth academies before moving to PSV Eindhoven at the age of 16 in January 2015.
He was sold to Sassuolo in January 2017 for €500,000, but PSV are owed 10 per cent of the sale fee that West Ham paid.
There were loan spells at Cremonese, PEC Zwolle, Ascoli and Genoa.
So he was indifferent when Inter showed interest because he was dreaming of West Ham? Right….
See you back in Serie A in 2 seasons bro
what a real let down
Another dead italian players carreer, and was still so young. There is no chance to reach world cup 2026
More like his new salary is perfect for him.
He doesn’t have what it takes to succeed in the EPL, that’s for sure.
He will return to serie a in a couple of seasons, playing out his career at some midtable clubs at best.
Good luck, but I think this romance will end in a bitter divorce. He’ll be scoring +10 goals a season, but in general will be a disappointment. Let’s hope I’m wrong Italy needs new talents and change of generation
Lol
Blimey, so much pessimism! I for one am glad he’s gone abroad and most notably the Prem. Italy are crying out for a reliable goal scorer and for me he’s gone to the right league that should be able to enhance his characteristics and make him a more polished striker. Yeah there’s a risk it might not work out, but the guy has obvious potential, so we can only hope he fulfils it in what is probably the best league in World Football. Good luck to him
Good luck decent club for him to progress.
Its no champions league no glory nithing, simply money for another poor italian striker, looks like there will not be italy in world cup 2026