Gianluca Scamacca is on fire for Atalanta in Italy, and West Ham United boss David Moyes must be kicking himself for selling the striker.
West Ham manager David Moyes recruited Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo for about £35 million in the summer of 2022 (Sky Sports).
However, just one year later, the Hammers sold him to Atalanta for about £21-25 million (talkSPORT), and, surprise, surprise, he scored in his first start for the Serie A side.
Scamacca was unsuccessful at the London Stadium. Many questioned his attitude and effort rate, but in my opinion, he was completely isolated in the middle and was severely ill-suited to Moyes’ style.
The Hammers manager should have tried a different formation to bring out the best in the Italian. The striker is a fantastic talent, and Moyes plainly gave up on him far too soon…
With Gianluca Scamacca on fire for Atalanta, West Ham manager David Moyes was left with egg on his face.
The former Sassuolo man has had a fantastic start to his career with Atalanta. He has six goals this season, five for his club and one for his country (Soccerbase).
The 24-year-old scored for his team in a 2-1 loss to Inter Milan on Saturday, and he also scored two incredible goals in the game before that for Atalanta.
So the 6ft 5in attacker has three goals in his last two outings. Why, why, why did we give up on him so quickly? To make matters worse, while the Italian is lighting it up in Italy, Michail Antonio is struggling in front of goal in England.
The truth is, I’m confident Moyes would have won at the London Stadium if he had kept the Italian and played him through the center between Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, with Lucas Paqueta slotted in behind him.
What if Moyes had started him in a 4-4-2 formation, like the Scot did against Brentford on Saturday?
I just think the Hammers’ 60-year-old manager lost up on the 24-year-old way too fast. He should have given him a proper opportunity to show what he’s capable of by arranging his team in a manner that would bring out the best in the striker.
We’re now stuck with Michail Antonio, a striker who can’t hit a cow’s behind with a banjo right now, while Gianluca Scamacca is tearing it up in Serie A. Moyes made a terrible move by selling the Italian.
