da brdice： West Ham United boss David Moyes opted against signing a new centre-forward to bolster his options at the top end of the pitch during the summer transfer window.
da gbg bet： The Hammers have gone with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as their two recognised number nines until at least the January transfer window.
They combined for seven goals in 50 Premier League appearances for the club throughout the 2022/23 campaign but the head coach has backed them to do the business this time around.
Appearances
33
Goals
5
Assists
3
Pass accuracy
57.6%
Moyes also opted to cash in on Italy international Gianluca Scamacca as the attacker was sold to Serie A side Atalanta earlier this summer after a disappointing season with the club.
The Scottish boss had a nightmare with the centre-forward as he was brought in to lead the line for the Hammers last year and failed to live up to the hype at the London Stadium. In fact, his spell ended up being worse than Sebastien Haller's.
How much did West Ham pay for Scamacca?
West Ham reportedly splashed out a significant transfer fee of £35.5m to sign the exciting young attacker from Italian outfit Sassuolo in 2022.
He arrived in England off the back of an impressive season in front of goal for his former side throughout the 2021/22 campaign as he proved himself to be a reliable goalscorer at Serie A level.
Scamacca plundered 16 goals and only missed five 'big chances' in 25 starts in the Italian top flight, which showed that the striker had the quality to score goals on a regular basis in a major European league.
The 24-year-old averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.04 across his 36 league appearances that term and ranked second within the squad – only behind Domenico Berardi.
His impressive form that season came after the talented youngster produced eight goals and created six 'big chances' for his teammates in 13 Serie A starts throughout the 2020/21 campaign on loan with Genoa.
Prior to that, Scamacca had racked up nine goals and one assist in 33 Serie B matches on loan with Ascoli Calcio during the previous season.
How many goals did Scamacca score for West Ham?
The Italian marksman produced just eight goals in 27 matches in all competitions for the Hammers, with two of those coming in two Europa Conference League qualifiers early on in the season.
He endured a terrible time in the Premier League for Moyes as the former PSV academy starlet scored three goals in 16 appearances, with 11 of those coming from the start.
Scamacca averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.78 for his performances in the top-flight and that ranked him 12th within the squad, showing that he was considerably far away from being one of the best players in the team.
As you can see from the chart above, as provided by FBref, the Italian has been below average among his positional peers in a number of statistical categories over the last 365 days.
In fact, he ranked in the bottom 25% of players in his position for xAG (expected assists) per 90 in the Premier League last season and in the top 45% for non-penalty goals per 90, as per FBref. This shows that he was a marginally above-average goalscorer and a lacklustre creator for his side.
His best form for the London-based side came in the Europa Conference League as he scored three goals and only missed one 'big chance' in seven appearances in the competition as West Ham went on to win the tournament, although the attacker did not feature in the final.
Scamacca was unable to replicate his prolific form for Sassuolo in England and Moyes opted to move on from the striker after just one season with the Hammers as he sanctioned a sale to Atalanta.
The Italy international cost West Ham a staggering £4.4m per goal as he found the back of the net eight times after a £35.5m transfer from his home country. He also cost a staggering £11.2m per Premier League strike with his three goals in the top flight of English football.
How many goals did Haller score for West Ham?
Haller, on the other hand, scored 14 goals and provided three assists in 54 matches in all competitions for the Hammers after his move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
He was snapped up for a reported club-record transfer fee of £45m from the Bundesliga outfit and struggled to be a consistent scorer for the club during his 18 months in England.
However, the Ivory Coast international did average a Sofascore rating of 6.97 and contributed with seven goals and one assist in 24 starts for West Ham during the 2019/20 campaign.
This shows that Haller scored more and delivered a higher average performance level than Scamacca in the Premier League throughout his own short stint at the London Stadium.
In total, the Ivorian finisher cost West Ham £3.2m per goal and £4.5m per Premier League goal with ten top-flight strikes for the club in one-and-a-half seasons.
Scamacca, who pundit Chris Sutton described as "miserable" during his time in England, was certainly worse than Haller for the Hammers as he scored fewer times and cost the club more per goal and considerably more in the league when you factor in their respective price tags.
Both players disappointed at the London Stadium as they were unable to deliver on a consistent basis over the course of several seasons. Indeed, West Ham and Moyes had a certified howler with the signing of the former Sassuolo star and their failure to hit the mark with that signing may have played a part in their decision not to take another foray into the market this summer.
The Hammers may not want another expensive striker leading the line and have decided to back Antonio and Ings to score the goals to make it a successful season for the club, with the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Said Benrahma, and Jarrod Bowen hopefully chipping in from midfield to win games.