Simone Zaza believes he is ready to showcase the ‘Real Zaza’ and score his first West Ham United goal this weekend against Sunderland.
Zaza had been written off by many sections of the English media after his goalless start to life as a West Ham player, not helped by his penalty miss during Italy’s Euro 2016 defeat to Germany.
However, the striker was praised for his performance in the Hammers’ 1-0 win at Crystal Palace last week and is confident the side are finally “turning things around”.
Simone Zaza believes he is ready to showcase the ‘Real Zaza’ and score his first West Ham United goal this weekend against Sunderland.
Zaza had been written off by many sections of the English media after his goalless start to life as a West Ham player, not helped by his penalty miss during Italy’s Euro 2016 defeat to Germany.
However, the striker was praised for his performance in the Hammers’ 1-0 win at Crystal Palace last week and is confident the side are finally “turning things around”.
“We had a good feeling after the win, of course,” the Juventus loanee told West Ham’s official website.
“I feel like I’m performing well now I’m physically fit. I am happy for myself and also for the team because we really needed the win. I feel like we’re turning things around.
“The manager told me after that he had seen the ‘Real Zaza’ and yes, yes, I agree with that. I knew that when I arrived it would be hard, because it’s a completely different league, but I didn’t think it would be this different.
“I’m gradually getting used to it, feeling more confident and I’m very positive at the moment.
“My relationship with the supporters is much better now! The fans expect me to give my best, and so they should, but sometimes the difficulties a player is experiencing are not so clear.
“What is important to the fans is the team scoring goals and winning games and they’re right about that. I know this is the right club for me, with the fans, the culture, the team and the whole concept of not giving up.
“I really appreciate the fact that the fans appreciated my performance at Crystal Palace and I hope my first goal comes soon so we can celebrate together.”
“Of course I want my first goal to come and Saturday would be a great time for that to happen, particularly as we’re playing at home,” he said.
“While I want to score, of course, the most important thing is for the team to win and if we do that it will be a big step forward in terms of improving our league position.
“If we win on Saturday against Sunderland, I think we can say that our league season has begun.”