West Ham United's Gianluca Scamacca celebrates scoring their second goal against Fulham
West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca, amid his injury, could be ‘struggling’ to adapt to the physicality of Premier League football.
The Lowdown: Scamacca sidelined…
The Italy international, after signing from Sassuolo in the 2022 summer transfer window, has managed just three league goals under manager David Moyes.
Scamacca’s arrival originally ended the long and drawn out search for a back up to Michail Antonio but the forward has arguably found it difficult to score on a consistent enough basis.
He did score in West Ham’s 2-2 draw with Leeds recently but a knee injury sustained in that game has kept him sidelined since.
The Latest: Sky injury man makes Scamacca claim…
Speaking to Football Insider, injury expert Ben Dinnery, who contributes for The Athletic, says Scamacca could be ‘struggling’ with life in English football.
He said:
“It can be a sign that he is struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
“There is definitely some adaptation he needs to do since arriving in England but let’s not forget that football is a contact sport.
“Everyone picks up knocks and niggles and generally knee injuries are high up on the list in terms of incident rates.”
The Verdict: Great potential…
The 24-year-old has drawn comparisons with AC Milan big name Zlatan Ibrahimovic in recent seasons for his unorthodox playing style and clinical nature in front of goal.
Scamacca netted 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances last season and the towering 6 foot 4 striker certainly has what it takes physically to adapt to English football.
His knee injury is an unfortunate one and it’s quite common for new signings to go through an adjustment period, especially when arriving in a division as tough as the Premier League.
The worry for Moyes will be how long Scamacca takes to come back fit and firing for what will be a crunch final few months of 2022/2023 – if the Scotsman isn’t sacked by then.
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