Ian Abrahams: West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca needs more Premier League minutes
Ian Abrahams feels Gianluca Scamacca is benefitting from West Ham United’s Conference League matches but insists “it’s not the Premier League” with the striker yet to score domestically.
The 23-year-old forward has scored three times in Europe with his most recent goal coming against Silkeborg. However, he has only started one Premier League game for the Hammers in the 2022/23 season.
Scamacca has been unwell for West Ham’s last two Premier League fixtures and Abrahams now feels he needs to be given more minutes on the domestic front.
Talking on talkSPORT Breakfast [06:40, 16 September], Abrahams said: “West Ham needed a striker to really compete with Michail Antonio and the more that he scores in the UEFA Conference League the better.
“It’s not the Premier League but it is still scoring goals and it’s still getting minutes under the belt.
“I think he needs to start more games after the international break.”
Goals will flow
Scamacca has shown enough to suggest that he will be a hit in the Premier League when he gets off the mark. Considering that he has been out of the last two matches and not really given a chance domestically as of yet, he has made a good start.
David Moyes must start the Italian against Everton on Sunday (18 September) in order to really kickstart his career at the London Stadium. Scamacca has shown his ability to be a physical presence for the Hammers, but he also has a good turn of pace and can like up play well.
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady are two experienced campaigners for Everton and will be able to deal with balls into the box from the Hammers.
If the Italy international is given the chance to feature from the outset he may have to demonstrate his ability to link up play and show more graft and guile compared to just being a target man.
Scamacca is tied down to the club for a long time, so it’s not the end of the world that he hasn’t made an immediate impact. Nevertheless, he could be a vital player in dragging Moyes’ side up the league standings, if he is given the chance.