West Ham are close to announcing the £33.5million signing of Gianluca Scamacca after the Sassuolo striker was spotted flying to London on Monday.
Scamacca has agreed personal terms on a five-year contract with the Hammers and will undergo a medical before becoming the club’s fourth arrival of the summer. The 23-year-old netted 16 goals in 36 appearances for Sassuolo in Serie A last season and his form has been rewarded with seven caps for Italy since his debut in September.
West Ham missed out on Jesse Lingard last week, with the former loanee choosing to join newly-promoted Nottingham Forest instead. But the addition of a striker has always been the top priority for David Moyes this summer and the signing of Scamacca represents a coup for the club.
Moyes has been pushing hard to land Chelsea striker Armando Broja, but at least now finally has a major breakthrough to enjoy. West Ham had been frustrated by the slowness of their work in the window. Scamacca will provide much needed competition for Michail Antonio once his transfer is officially confirmed.
Scamacca started his career in Roma’s academy before joining Sassuolo from PSV Eindhoven in 2017. The 6ft 3in striker spent time on loan with Cremonese, PEC Zwolle, Ascoli and Genoa before breaking through at Sassuolo last season.
Scamacca is the fourth addition so far this summer for West Ham, following Nayef Aguerd, who joined from Rennes for £30m, Flynn Downes, who cost £12m from Swansea, and Alphonse Areola, who moved permanently from Paris Saint-Germain for £7.75m. Although in a different position, Scamacca’s arrival comes at a good time following injury to Aguerd.
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The 26-year-old Morocco international will miss the start of the season due to an ankle injury he sustained in a pre-season friendly against Rangers last week. The centre-back, who Moyes hailed for having the right “character and attitude” after joining, has undergone surgery on the problem and is now set for a spell on the sidelines.
West Ham still want more reinforcements before they begin their Premier League campaign at home to champions Manchester City on August 7. Blackburn striker Ben Brereton Diaz is also on their radar, while they have made two bids for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana.
Moyes wants to recruit a left-sided forward and West Ham have therefore entered talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over Filip Kostic. The Guardian reports that the Hammers have submitted an official £12.75m bid for the player, who has one year left on his contract.
Frankfurt’s qualification for the Champions League could prove to be a stumbling block in negotiations for the 29-year-old. Leicester ’s Luke Thomas, Napoli duo Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz are also on West Ham’s radar.
