West Ham coach Kevin Nolan suggests Gianluca Scamacca – Kevin Nolan has suggested that Gianluca Scamacca still has a future at West Ham despite being linked with a move away.
The 24-year-old arrived from Sassuolo for £30million last summer with big expectations after banging in 16 Serie A goals in the 2021/22 season.
But he struggled in his debut campaign in England, where he scored just three times in 16 Premier League appearances.
In total, he found the back of the net on eight occasions from 27 games in all competitions – with five of his strikes coming in the Europa Conference League.
His inconsistent form has led to speculation he could be departing the London Stadium.
talkSPORT understands that Roma are keen on bringing the centre-forward back to Italy, with the two clubs in talks over a potential transfer.
And ex-Hammers skipper and now assistant manager Nolan has conceded that Scamacca has struggled to settle, but hinted his time in east London isn’t coming to an end.
Speaking on the White and Jordan show, Nolan said of the player: “He’s one who has struggled adapting to the Premier League – off the field rather than on the field.
“Because on the field, we feel like he has got a lot to offer us. We feel that he is going to be a success.
“But I think being a young lad, coming over here on his own, all that type of stuff, he lived close to home when he was back in Italy.
“It’s a massive change for these boys when they do it, and although people go, ‘he’s on astronomical amounts of money, he should be able to adapt’, they find it difficult.
“They haven’t got their close ones in and around them and find it difficult to settle.”
Interjecting, talkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy stated Scamacca has shown glimpses of his class, leading Nolan to state: “That’s what I’m saying.”
Michail Antonio gave a brutally honest assessment of Scamacca earlier this month, where he claimed his teammate is not a fighter.
Antonio said on the Filthy Fellas YouTube Channel: “He is actually quality, he is a quality player.
“The problem is, he can not play the way the manager wants to play.
“He needs a different type of manager who will let him play with players to come off him and stuff like that.
“You see that, the ball comes to him, and it sticks. But with David Moyes, you have to feed off scraps, be a fighter… and he’s not that.”
