West Ham, Moyes on Scamacca: “He quickly understood the Premier”

The goal that gave West Ham a victory in the Conference League at Anderlecht was just the icing on the cake. Because David Moyes, the West Ham manager, had already fallen in love for a while with Gianluca Scamacca, the center forward he aimed for and brought to the Premier League in the summer. “He’s an extraordinary guy, he even understands my Scottish accent,” he says with a smile. Moyes, 59, is square like his rough accent, direct and decisive. But for Scamacca he has an evident weakness, a respect that the blue has won on the pitch. Not only with the goals, so far 4 in 5 Cup games and one in the Premier, last Saturday against Wolverhampton, but with the commitment to training, the constant desire to improve, to be an integral part of that ambitious West Ham in the Premier and in Europe that Moyes has in mind. The one who needs the goals of his Italian center forward.

Mister, Gianluca scored again.

“I think he’s playing very well. He’s 23, he’s his first time in the Premier League, but he’s scoring and that gives him confidence. He knows he needs to improve, but he has room to do it and he’s doing a great job.”

Did you expect it to be that important so soon?

“I always feared he needed time, as is happening to all new strikers. Well, to everyone except Haaland, but that’s another story … It took time for Cavani too when he arrived at Manchester United and many other players. from Italy. Instead Gianluca succeeded quickly, and I am convinced I know why “.

“His age. He’s only 23, obviously moving from Italy to the Premier League is a big thing, but being young has accelerated the process. Like the fact that Michail Antonio is in the squad, which allows me to manage Gianluca, does not force me to play him in every game and does not leave him all the pressure. It allowed us to insert it calmly, to evaluate his progress, take it off when it needed to be removed and put it back on when needed. I learned with the experience that this is the best way to enter a player “.

When you bought it from Sassuolo, was it more the idea of ​​its potential or what it could give you immediately?

“I have always thought more about what he can do in the long run. I looked at his potential, at his true potential: he has a lot of features that we like and can only improve. I think that in a few years he will be even stronger, definitely stronger. Because in terms of football he is still a child. I imagine him in 5 years, Italy’s center forward and the man who makes the difference. For us too. ”

In your opinion, what was the biggest adaptation that Scamacca had to make for the Premier League?

“I think he had different expectations on how the teams defend on him. And on what is asked of him. Here as a striker he is an integral part of the game, not just the one who collects crosses. He has to press the defense, participate in the construction. we ask a lot “.

“I discovered a great guy. Among the things that allowed him to adapt so quickly, in my opinion, are his humility and his dedication to work. Now he sees things he didn’t see at first, adapts and understands how to do. And he’s accepting the fact that he’s not at the level of form he expected to be. He’s 23, he can still grow a lot. ”

How much is having two other Italians on the team helping him?

“Gianluca speaks excellent English and has never needed interpreters. Ogbonna and Emerson obviously are helping him a lot, which Emerson is also doing with Paqueta, who does not yet speak English well. For Gianluca, on the other hand, Ogbonna was very important, above all. at the beginning: he took him under his wing, made him understand better how the club works, what I want and how I work. You can see the results. “