For the third transfer window in a row, West Ham have been heavily linked with Juventus forward Simone Zaza. In the past few days the speculation has been circling again with The Guardian claiming that we were preparing a new £15 million bid for the Italian International.
However, our hopes may have been dashed after Juventus general director Beppe Marotta has denied any potential deal. He said, “Zaza has some offers, but he’ll remain with us.”
ESPN claim that Zaza will be staying put, after Alvaro Morata has moved back to Real Madrid.
Is this a big loss for West Ham?
West Ham have so many targets this summer, and it’s fair to say that Zaza wasn’t high on the list of priorities. Vardy, Lacazette, Batshuayi and Bacca have all been reportedly linked with massive fees, so it’s likely that Zaza would be a replacement for Sakho, rather than the main striker that would we look to buy this summer.
Zaza would bring versatility to our front line, and is in the Italy squad at Euro 2016. That being said, it’s not the strongest attacking line up for Italy, and Zaza hasn’t featured too much at the tournament. Pelle and Eder are both starting ahead of him, and he hasn’t been playing too much for Juventus this season. He also only has 1 goal in 12 appearances for his country, albeit mainly substitute appearances.
It wouldn’t be the biggest loss to miss out on the striker, but if Marotta and Juventus do decide they are willing to sell, he could prove to be a good replacement for Sakho.
