West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca will look to put a better reputation on the shirt number given to him by his new club.
The 23-year-old became the club’s fourth signing of the summer transfer window on Tuesday night and the Italian international has signed a five-year contract at the London Stadium, with the option of an additional 12 months inserted into it.
Scamacca will take the number seven shirt in David Moyes’ squad following his confirmed arrival, although it is a shirt number that has had mixed success in it in recent times. The number was vacated by Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who left the club at the end of his contract earlier this summer.
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Despite scoring a couple of important goals for the Hammers last season as they finished seventh in the table and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, Yarmolenko’s exit came after scoring 13 times in 86 matches in all competitions across a four-year stint following his exit from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
Prior to Yarmolenko, the shirt was occupied for two years by Marko Arnautovic, who joined the Hammers from Stoke City in a deal worth up to £25million including add-ons. Arnautovic returned a good record in front of goal for the Hammers with 22 goals in 65 outings, but his spell was short lived, joining Shanghai Port in China.
Before Arnautovic, Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli had a short stint in the shirt, with 27 appearances and four goals in the 2016/17 season prior to joining Galatasaray in Turkey. Before him, Matt Jarvis wore the shirt for four years between 2012 and 2016, making 90 appearances and netting on six occasions.
The 2011/12 term saw striker Sam Baldock score five goals in 24 appearances to help the Hammers gain promotion up to the Premier League, but his time in the shirt lasted just a season. Kieron Dyer, Freddie Ljunberg and Hayden Mullins have also all had short spells in the shirt, but neither of them got close to wearing the number seven for an extensive period.
The last player to don the seven strip for a century of games was centre-back Christian Dailly. Between 2001 and 2007, the centre-back played 191 times, scored four goals and helped the Hammers gain promotion back up to the Premier League and reach the 2006 FA Cup final, where West Ham lost to Liverpool in extra-time.
Scamacca’s inheritance of the seven shirt sees him follow some great names, but many either failed to live up to expectations or left the club too soon for some supporters’ liking. Hammers supporters will be hoping that the 23-year-old is here to stay and continue to extend Moyes’ side’s run in European competitions.
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