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Football London
Football London
Sport
Jonty Colman

Former West Ham striker delivers verdict on “talented” Gianluca Scamacca and Declan Rice

Former West Ham United striker Clive Allen admits he is excited to see how summer signing Gianluca Scamacca will fare in the Premier League this season.

Italian international Scamacca became the fourth of five signings made so far by the Hammers earlier this summer when sealing a £30.5million switch from Sassuolo, having netted 16 goals in Serie A last season.

Allen has been discussing the Hammers’ chances of emulating last season’s successful campaign that saw them reach the semi-finals of the Europa League and finish seventh in the Premier League table.

READ MORE: Three ways West Ham can line-up vs Nottingham Forest with Maxwel Cornet in two different roles

The former Irons striker, who spent two years with West Ham between 1992 and 1994, is excited to see how Scamacca performs in England’s top-flight, as well as praising star winger Jarrod Bowen and club captain Declan Rice.

“I think the whole experience was fantastic for the club,” Allen told cheekypunter.com. “I witnessed them beating Sevilla and going on to beat Lyon. They were fantastic performances that really bolstered their whole season.

“They had a good run in the Premier League. The big addition this year will be Scamacca, the centre forward from Italy. I think he’s a young talented striker and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the Premier League.

“But in Jarrod Bowen they had a top-class performer last year, Declan Rice is still there which is vital. West Ham will start the campaign very confident about being in and around the top six.”

Following the opening weekend of the season, the Hammers currently find themselves in the relegation zone after a 2-0 defeat to defending champions Manchester City. Their next opponents Nottingham Forest, are also currently in the bottom three.

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