Player ‘needed’ to leave West Ham – Was in a bad situation, had to ‘get his confidence back’

Gianluca Scamacca ‘needed’ to leave West Ham United this summer in order to ‘get his confidence back’ after a disappointing season at the London Stadium.

That’s according to Borja Valero, who has been speaking to DAZN regarding the player after he completed his return to Italy.

Scamacca joined Atalanta in a €25m deal on Monday, bringing an end to a short and unsuccessful season with West Ham.

He joined the Hammers in a €28.5m deal from Sassuolo last summer but only managed eight goals in 27 games for the club last season, struggling to impress David Moyes enough to make him first choice.

It had been made clear throughout this summer that he wanted to leave and return to Italy, where several clubs chased his signature in recent weeks.

Ultimately it was Atalanta who won the race, making a late and successful bid for the player and beating the competition to him.

It now remains to be seen if Scamacca can prove to be a success at the club, with Valero insisting he simply had to get out of West Ham either way.

“Atalanta made a huge splash,” he said.

“For some reason, their season with West Ham didn’t go in the best way. So, he needed to go back to Italy to find himself, get back in confidence and play at the level shown at Sassuolo.”