When West Ham United signed Gianluca Scammaca in the summer of 2022, a lot of them thought the Hammers were signing one of the best young strikers from Italy. They indeed signed one of the best young Italian strikers who scored 16 goals and as the fourth-highest scorer for a Sassuolo side that finished 11th the previous season. However, things did not work out for the Italian at London, and he quickly decided to move on, signing for Atalanta in the summer of 2023.

The below visualisation shows where the 24-year-old ranks for some of the key metrics when compared with the other centre-forwards from Europe’s top-tier leagues.

Scammaca found it challenging to adapt to the playing style of David Moyes mostly because he never got the chance to play regularly because of injuries, but in the limited time he did play, he struggled to link up with his teammates. Now, back in a familiar environment, the Italian international is still not starting all the games but is back with a smile on his face again. With five goals in 9 appearances, Scammaca ranks, rightly so, in the top 15% for Goal Contributions per 90 minutes. He is always closer to the goal mouth like an old school no.9 to finish off the chances he is given.

His finishing is also excellent, with him overperforming on his xG, although the sample size is small right now. His off-the-ball work was eye-catching during his time at Sassuolo, and that once again seems on par with the expectations.

Gianluca Scammaca quickly realised the West Ham environment was not ideal for him and hence poached on the opportunity to move out just like he poached on the chances in front of the goal. It will be interesting to see if he again grabs non-Italian clubs’ attention for a move away.