Gianluca Scamacca has admitted it would be a “dream” to play under Jose Mourinho at his hometown club Roma, but insisted he is happy at West Ham ahead of the new season.
Scamacca was a £30.5million signing from Sassuolo during last summer’s window, but after an encouraging start to the season struggled to make an impact and eventually saw his season curtailed by knee surgery.
The forward has since been linked with a swift return to Serie A but West Ham insist that the 24-year-old is not for sale and he is today due to land with the rest of David Moyes’s squad in Australia for the club’s pre-season tour.
“Rome is home to me,” Scamacca told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Francesco Totti has been my idol since I was a kid and which player wouldn’t dream of being coached by Mourinho? I am convinced he would motivate me and I would improve even more.
“But now I’m a West Ham player and, despite all the rumours, I feel good here.”
Scamacca played 45 minutes in West Ham’s friendly victory over Borehamwood on Monday, his first appearance since March.
“It was fantastic to return to the pitch and I felt great,” Scamacca added. “I will reach peak fitness by the start of the season. If I am fit and I am convinced I will be, I will score 20 goals.”
