West Ham United must avoid another Gianluca Scamacca disasterclass as Mateo Retegui rumour emerges
West Ham United have reportedly “already asked for information” on red-hot Italy international Mateo Retegui but the Hammers should avoid another Gianluca Scamacca disaster class.
The 23-year-old has emerged as one of the hottest prospects on the continent despite playing his football in Argentina, scoring two goals in his first two games for Italy on international duty, including a debut consolation strike in the 2-1 defeat to England on Thursday (23 March).
The Boca Juniors forward has grabbed the attention with his excellent scoring form on loan at Tigre in Argentina, where he has netted an impressive 29 goals in 51 appearances for the South American giants.
His form for club and country has already garnered plenty of interest and attention with a host of clubs in Italy and around Europe interested in a transfer.
Along with West Ham United, Inter, AC Milan and Lazio are all positioning themselves for a move, while Atletico Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt are also both in the race.
But with his price having already “skyrocketed” to as much as €20million [£17.5m] it is reportedly the spending power of the Premier League which has Italian sides nervous, and the Hammers are the first on the scene from England, according to Gazzetta dello Sport [28 March].
While signing the striking hot property will appeal to the Hammers, they won’t need any reminders as to how problematic these sorts of moves could be with Retegui’s counterpart in East London Scamacca struggling to set the London Stadium alight in his first season.
There has been a raft of speculation that the Italian star is looking to return to Serie A since his mega-money £35.5million move last summer from Sassuolo after struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
The Italian frontman has made just 11 starts in England’s top flight, scoring three goals and David Moyes revealed on 13 March that the Italian international’s “physical data” wasn’t at the level required to start games under him.
Such comments have led former Eurosport journalist Dean Jones to suggest [via GiveMeSport, 25 March] that Scamacca isn’t sure whether West Ham is the right club for him, with Moyes yet to show full faith.
Certainly, West Ham United will be in the market for another forward, especially with Michail Antonio set to depart this summer and Retegui certainly seems a sure bet to replace him at £17.5m but it’s a seriously risky move.
As was signing Scamacca last season, and look at the struggles he’s faced. Considering West Ham’s past record on big-money striker acquisitions, the East Londoners would be foolish to quickly write off £35m and waste another £17.5m on a player that’s yet to test himself at the highest level in club football.
West Ham United should desperately look to keep Scamacca and try to help the talented forward become the striker he’s regularly been primed to become. £35m is a lot of money, especially for a club as big as West Ham.
For this reason, the club should hold off potentially facing another transfer disaster class and lie in the messy Scamacca bed they made.