West Ham: Moyes blew £40m on "miserable" flop who was worse than Anderson
While things are going swimmingly for all at West Ham United right now, it has not always been the case, especially when considering the numerous deals on the transfer front over the past decade or so.
Frankly, the Hammers have spent much of the past two decades languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League – and have indeed fallen into the second tier on multiple occasions.
David Moyes' appointment in the managerial position (for the second time) has proved to be a masterful move, with the squad and culture built at the club over the past several years paving the way for success unseen in east London for many, many years.
Last term, West Ham won the Europa Conference League after beating Italian side Fiorentina in the final, ending a 43-year wait for major silverware, having last triumphed with an FA Cup victory in 1980.
It shrouded the woes on the domestic front, with West Ham struggling for form all season and actually seeing Moyes edge into territory begging questions over the sustainability of his tenure.
One of the main strugglers was Gianluca Scamacca, who had arrived in the summer to serve as the starring new talisman, but ultimately proved to be one of the worst deals struck throughout Moyes' successful reign.
How much did West Ham pay for Gianluca Scamacca?
After completing the 2021/22 season as Europa League semi-finalists and finishing seventh in the Premier League, West Ham felt the time was right to target a new starring striker to bolster the chances of retaining their position of power.
Scamacca was the man for the job, and completed a move from Serie A side Sassuolo for £35.5m on a five-year contract, with the possibility of extension for a further year.
It was a move that created much fanfare after such a promising rise, having scored 16 goals from 36 appearances in the Serie A the past season and eight from just 13 starts the season before.
The 24-year-old was expected to prosper and was expected to be the heir to put right the past failed deal of Sebastien Haller, who scored just 14 times from 54 games for West Ham after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45m, but it was not to be.
How much did Gianluca Scamacca earn at West Ham?
The 6 foot 4 colossus certainly earned a pretty penny with West Ham, taking home £90k-per-week for an annual salary of nearly £4.7m.
The Hammers did manage to demonstrate their shrewd business sense and shipped him off to Atalanta in a £27m deal, but that still represents money down the drain for little outcome and yet another failed centre-forward signing for the club, who have had their fair share over the years.
Indeed, it's around a £13m loss for the east Londoners, when factoring in what they paid in terms of a transfer fee and his wages.
The 11-cap Italy star – who has yet to score for his country – moved back home after his English sojourn, and given that he has already scored twice this season despite only making one starting showing, there is much disgruntlement among the Irons that he did not prove himself under Moyes' wing with the outfit on the up.
How well did Gianluca Scamacca play for West Ham?
Despite earning praise for his “complete' skill set by Luigi Di Baggio, before his move to the London Stadium, Scamacca was unable to showcase the full scope of his talents under Moyes' tutelage.
Scamacca was remarked at for his "miserable" presence by pundit Chris Sutton and really did fail to gel with the team, and while he scored eight times across all competitions, two of those strikes came against Viborg in the Conference League qualifiers and a further three arrived in the group phase, against Silkeborg IF, Anderlecht and AEK Larnaca.
It was in the Premier League, where he was expected to strut his stuff, that the Italy international endured the most substandard of his displays; as per Sofascore, he scored just three goals across 16 appearances, missing as many big chances and completing only 67% of his passes.
It was a far cry from his past feats in his homeland, and given the expensive price tag and lofty wage, he is undoubtedly one of the biggest misfires of recent memory.
There have been a few. Felipe Anderson, in particular, stings to this day after enjoying such a tremendous maiden year at United after signing from Lazio on a club-record £36m transfer in July 2018, plundering ten goals and five assists from 40 outings and was heralded for his "outstanding" efforts by the late Hammers chairman David Gold.
The club-record phenom was sold after three years – back to Lazio – having spent his final campaign on West Ham's books with Portuguese giants Porto, and given that he scored just once in his final season within the West Ham squad, this was probably worthwhile.
To Anderson's credit, he did capture the awe of Hammers fans for that impressive debut term, something Scamacca failed to do, proving to be a colossal failure and waste of money for an ambitious squad targetting sustained success at the forefront.
A player who, ultimately, decided that English football was not for him, Scamacca sought a return to his homeland after just one year, very much a 'miserable' presence in east London.
Subjective, of course, but his failure to serve in the talismanic role as anticipated impacted the club's seasonal endeavours, and had he performed as was expected, the Irons might not have been embroiled in a relegation battle at all.
Moyes opted not to sign a striker this summer, sticking with Antonio and signing the mercurial Mohammed Kudus from Ajax, who can serve across a wealth of offensive roles.
With such a measly contribution in the paramount Premier League fight, Scamacca's signature might have been laced in gilt, but he proved to be a colossal failure and one which Moyes will certainly rue, with his striking replacement still not yet found.