Having failed to live up to expectations in his first season after his €36m+ transfer from Sassuolo, West Ham United’s Gianluca Scamacca has been heavily linked with a return to Italy.
AS Roma are said to be after him to help out following the injury to Tammy Abraham, but only want him on loan with an option to buy while the Hammers believe that if he goes, he goes for good.
There’s still work to be done to convince West Ham, which Tiago Pinto is set to resume this week, but Scamacca himself has taken matters into his own hands with an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.
He first revealed that he played all of last season with a ‘broken meniscus’, which is why he wasn’t at his best, eventually needing to go under the knife as he could no longer bear it.
Scamacca then praised Declan Rice, suggesting the €120m being paid by Arsenal might not be enough, as he’s the ‘strongest midfielder’ he’s ‘ever played with’.
He replied: “I always have and I always will. However… If I were to return to Serie A, it would not be because I failed in England, which is not the case. It would simply be because it would be an indispensable opportunity. No, it wouldn’t even be a step backwards for my career: our league remains one of the best.”
As for whether he was thinking about Rome and Mourinho, he added: “For me, Rome is home. And Totti, my idol as a child. And what player wouldn’t dream of being managed by Mourinho? I am convinced that Mou would stimulate me and with him, I would improve even more.”
