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West Ham transfer news: Moyes now preparing to replace £30.5m player

West Ham United are now preparing to sign a replacement for Gianluca Scamacca with AS Roma to hold new talks for the striker’s transfer to Jose Mourinho’s side next week.

That is according to , who claims that West Ham are not forcing Scamacca out of London Stadium. But the Irons are ready to move for a new centre-forward if they accept a bid. Even though they only signed the 24-year-old from Sassuolo last July for up to .

The Hammers paid an initial £30.5m for Scamacca and also gave the Neroverdi a 10% sell-on clause. While the Italy international put pen to paper on a five-year contract with a one-year option. But several injuries restricted him to 27 appearances and eight goals in 2022/23.

Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images

Injuries derailed Scamacca’s debut season at West Ham

Scamacca offered three of his goals for West Ham across 16 Premier League appearances for 928 minutes. He also found the back of the net three times in seven Europa Conference League ties, having already hit home twice through two qualifiers for the UEFA tournament.

Surgery for a knee injury would ensure Scamacca missed West Ham’s win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final. He underwent the operation in April to solve the issue sustained during international duty this March. But his last top-flight outing was in January.

Reports by this week noted that Scamacca is now enjoying a holiday on the Costa Smeralda. But the striker is also remaining in regular contact with his agent about what the future holds. Scamacca remains a leading transfer target for Mourinho with Roma.

Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images

Roma are set to push for Scamacca’s transfer next week

Mourinho considers Scamacca to be an ideal option after Roma lost Tammy Abraham to an ACL injury in June. While further reports by on Saturday add that Roma will hold a fresh round of talks with West Ham next week to negotiate Scamacca’s transfer.

Scamacca is Mourinho’s top target to fill Abraham’s void and cannot wait to return to Roma if West Ham sanction a transfer. But the Irons have so far rejected the Serie A side’s interest in a loan deal. So, the Giallorossi want to understand if there is scope for a loan-to-buy move.

Roma will consider including an obligation to buy their former academy prospect should he meet certain conditions while on loan. Stadio Olimpico chiefs will push for the conditions to be focused more toward goals than appearances. He had shown promise in Italy in 2021/22.

West Ham moved for Scamacca’s transfer after he offered Sassuolo 16 goals over 36 Serie A games in 21/22. His form that season also convinced Declan Rice that Scamacca would be a success for West Ham. The England anchor hailed the striker on back in October.

“I can tell you now, he’s going to be unbelievable,” Rice said. “He‘s going to be really, really special. I’ve played with [Michail] Antonio for so many years and he’s done so many good things for this club. But he was never an out-and-out striker.

“He’s been made into a striker, whereas Gianluca is the first out-and-out striker I’ve played with at club level and he’s just on another level.”