West Ham United manager David Moyes admits he wants striker Gianluca Scamacca to rekindle the form he showed earlier this season following comments about his “physical data.”
After Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, questions surrounded the lack of game time given to £30.5million summer signing Scamacca, with the 24-year-old Italian striker being an unused substitute for a fourth straight match, with winger Maxwel Cornet preferred to him as a substitute late on in the game.
In his post-match press conference, Moyes said that Scamacca’s physical output was letting him down and ultimately was a key factor behind his drop off in minutes in recent months.
READ NEXT : David Moyes picks out former Chelsea man among West Ham signings who impressed vs Aston Villa
Asked about his comments from just under 72 hours ago, Moyes said that he wants to see the form of Scamacca from earlier this season, with the striker scoring six of his seven goals for the season before mid-October.
“I am not going to elaborate on that,” said Moyes. “We want him to be physically working hard for the team, getting in the right goal-scoring positions, playing like a six foot four centre forward, and covering all the ground. That’s what we want from him.
“In the early part of the season we saw that. I just think we haven’t seen it since he came back from his injury in November around the World Cup. He got injured in a friendly around that time. We have not seen him back to that level when he first arrived and that’s what we are looking for.”
Moyes said that the issues surrounding Scamacca are not necessarily exclusive to him, suggesting it has been a wider problem for a large number of signings arriving in the Premier League next year.
The Hammers’ Scottish manager has said that while Scamacca has shown promise at times, he was struggling to last full games earlier in the season, but backs him to improve.
“It can depend,” Moyes explained. “If you thought of all the players in the summer, I don’t know how many players were bought in the Premier League. Let’s say 150. How many of them do you think have been a success this year?
“I don’t think you would be thinking of too many names. How many have stood out? Not sure. So to put it in perspective, it is not just Gianluca. It is a difficult league to come into and get settled.
“He will come back soon. His form in the first two or three months wasn’t too bad, but how long did we play him in most games? 60 minutes? So, I am sure you can work out some of the things yourself.”
Moyes’ recent comments on Scamacca led to some speculation that a fallout had happened between the player and manager.
However, Moyes quashed those theories quickly and said that Scamacca is “a very good boy” and can see him returning to his best form, adding that Thursday’s night’s Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg tie against AEK Larnaca is a good opportunity for the Italian.
“Yes it is. A good chance. We want him back,” Moyes added. “He’s got something. We like him a lot. He is a great boy. A really good boy. In fact, a very good boy. We want him to do well. We want our Gianluca back who we had from August to November. The one we have got right now looks slightly different.
“We need him to get back to those levels because we could use him, we could play him, he scored some goals, had some contributions, and was still growing into it.”
Given Moyes’ praise for Scamacca’s character, it helps in his faith in the Italian getting back to the form seen earlier this season.
Moyes added that he felt Scamacca’s struggles for form were apparent in the first leg of the Larnaca tie, where he played for the final 30 minutes.
“We’re all really supportive of him, there’s no problem with him or anything like that,” Moyes told football.london. “We’re just trying to say hey, come on, the supporters want to see you, but I’m seeing you every day. Come on, you’re going to have to show this.
“You were in Cyprus the other day so you’ve got an idea of what you saw yourself so you’re seeing that we really want him to step up. I think he’s got it, he knows and we’re hoping that we will.”
READ NEXT
Carlton Palmer makes transfer claim on Norwich City midfielder amid West Ham links
Arthur Masuaku among West Ham loanees to make his mark with goalscoring impact in Turkey
The outcome West Ham can’t fix in Premier League relegation battle ahead of Southampton clash
David Moyes' message for Danny Ings, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen over West Ham struggle
West Ham youngster earns first senior international call-up as he awaits Hammers first team bow
