Sean Dyche has warned West Ham United fans to be patient with summer signing Gianluca Scamacca.
The Lowdown: Scamacca adjusting
The Italian joined the Hammers for an initial £31m in the summer, arriving from Serie A side Sassuolo in a bid to improve the attacking options at the club.
Having netted only twice in his first ten Premier League appearances, some supporters may have expected more from the 9-time Italy international, but former Burnley manager Dyche has insisted that the forward needs time to settle into his new surroundings.
The Latest: Dyche’s comments
When posed a question about the £90k-per-week striker, Dyche told Sky Sports [Monday, October 24th, 7:51pm]:
“He’s a new one to me, to be honest, I’ve only seen him this season. He’s a big physical presence, a great goal against Wolves and scoring in Europe. He’s one that will grow into things at West Ham I imagine.”
The 51-year-old also referenced other players who have taken time to adapt to the Premier League and gone on to be successful, saying:
“It takes time. The top players take time.
“I remember Kevin De Bruyne going over to Man City for £50m and he didn’t play every week. The Premier League is different, there’s no two ways about it, we had that with Maxwel Cornet. The pace, the physicality, the feel is different.”
The Verdict: He needs time
As correctly pointed out by Dyche, it can take time to adapt to the Premier League, and West Ham fans will see their summer signing firing on all cylinders before too long.
While he is already showing glimpses of what he can do, the man described as “the real deal” by journalist Sam Tabuteau had a fantastic scoring record in Serie A with Sassuolo, notching 16 goals in 36 games.
Standing at 6 foot 5, the colossus is also able to be a focal point for the Irons even when he is not getting too many goals himself, so he will continue to bring others into the play – even sometimes alongside fellow forward Michail Antonio – until he starts scoring consistently, which could well happen with more time and experience in the big time.
