West Ham United signing Gianluca Scamacca snubbed late Paris Saint-Germain hijack for Hammers
Headline West Ham signing Gianluca Scamacca turned down a last-ditch attempt from Paris Saint-Germain to hijack his move, according to Sky Sports.
After chasing a new striker for over a year, and coming close to bringing in Chelsea youngster Armando Broja, the Hammers finally announced the £35.5million arrival of the big Sassuolo striker on Tuesday (26 July) in front of a wide crowd of European heavyweights.
Earlier in the window he had been a PSG target, but the French champions had been reluctant to meet his asking price, but despite since landing Hugo Ekitike they apparently made a final bid to derail the 23-year-old’s move to the London Stadium and were foiled by the player’s honour to the Irons.
In a clip posted to the Sky Sports News Twitter account Sheth said: “This’ll be music to the ears of West Ham United fans. PSG made a late attempt to sign Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo.
“However, Scamacca and his representatives had given West Ham their word that he would sign for them.
“AC Milan, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and two unnamed Premier League clubs were also interested in Scamacca in this transfer window…
“He said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve chosen West Ham United’.”
Unearthed a diamond
It’s hard to think of a better way to ingratiate yourself to your new manager and fans, aside from being the first striker to be signed for 18-months.
Snubbing one of the richest clubs in world football, and showing loyalty to a club you are yet to play a game for, is likely to make him a fan-favourite immediately.
The names of the sides who were interested in the Italy international show what a strong signing this is, and while it hasn’t come cheap the market for big-name strikers could have seen it go considerably higher.
All he has to do now is complete the not insignificant tasks of avoiding injury so he can actually play, in light of the unfortunate situation with top defensive recruit Nayef Aguerd, and then start hitting the back of the net.
The well-travelled forward is starting to hit his stride as a goalscorer, with 16 Serie A goals last year for Sassuolo and 12 in all competitions the season before on loan at Genoa.
But Sebastien Haller’s achievements before and after moving to London show that the quality of a player doesn’t necessarily guarantee returns.
Without kicking a ball Scamacca has got off to a great start, and if he can back it up on the pitch then he will soon be a genuine Hammers hero.