West Ham United striker Michail Antonio believes that the playing style of teammate Gianluca Scamacca does not suit that of Hammers boss David Moyes.
West Ham signed 24-year-old Italian forward Scamacca for £30.5million from Sassuolo last summer, but he has struggled this season in a campaign that has largely been blighted by injuries.
In all competitions, Scamacca has scored eight goals this season, just three of which have been in the Premier League.
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Between the start of October and mid-November, Scamacca had become West Ham’s first-choice striker over Antonio, only for the roles to reverse after the 2022 World Cup, with Antonio going on to score 14 goals in all competitions this term, his best-ever return in a West Ham shot.
On top of a series of injury and illness-related absences, Moyes has publicly questioned his running levels and ability to get into the penalty area, among the reasons why Antonio has been preferred to him in recent months.
Asked about his fellow striker, Antonio has said that Scamacca is a very good player, but needs to play in a system that does not match up with the lone striker that Moyes often uses, something which is more suited to Antonio’s game.
“I will be honest with you lot, he is actually quality. He is a quality player,” Antonio told FilthyFellas . “The problem is, he can’t play the way the gaffer plays. He needs a different type of manager to play his type of football. Yes [he can speak English], he’s alright.
“He needs a manager [where] he can play and have others come off him and stuff like that. You see him, the ball comes to him and it sticks, he’s tidy.
“But, how David Moyes plays is more like if you’re up front, you are dealing with scraps and you’ve got to be more of a fighter and that’s not him.”
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