Following injuries to Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew, West Ham manager Slaven Bilic strengthened his attacking options with the acquisition of Juventus striker Simone Zaza late last week. The Italian international joins on a season-long loan for an initial €5 million, with a view to a permanent transfer.
Speaking to the club’s official website, the 25-year-old is keen to improve over the next nine months after struggling to nail down a regular role with the Serie A side:
“I want to thank everyone for welcoming me including the fans and everyone at the club. I wanted to start a new experience and I feel this is the right choice for me… I want to become a better player and I know I can do that at West Ham. Unfortunately we could not qualify for the Europa League, but I am hoping I can help the club do that next season.”
The History
Born in Policoro, Italy, Zaza began his youth career at Stella Azzurra Bernalda and Valdera before being scouted by Serie A side Atalanta, whom he signed with at the age of 15.
He made his professional debut for Atalanta against Reggina in April 2009, but would only be granted two further league appearances for the club before joining Sampdoria in July 2010.
Zaza failed to establish himself at Sampdoria, though, and was sent out on loan three times over the following four seasons. He played four matches for Serie B outfit Juve Stabia in 2011/12, scoring one goal, before joining Viareggio, a third tier side, on loan during the second half of the 2011/12 campaign, where he netted 11 times in 18 matches.
The following season saw Zaza take in another loan spell, this time with Serie B side Ascoli, where he again impressed, scoring 18 goals and adding four assists from 36 appearances.
Having played just twice for Sampdoria over three years, Zaza moved to Sassuolo in the summer of 2013. He scored nine goals and registered two assists in 33 Serie A matches, and improved on that record the following campaign, totalling 11 goals and three assists in 31 matches.
Last summer, Zaza joined Juventus but struggled for pitch time with the Italian champions. Handed only five starts (and 14 sub appearances) he registered a respectable five goals and an assist in just 663 minutes.
Capped by Italy at Under 16, Under 17 and Under 19 levels, totalling six appearances, Zaza made his senior debut against Holland in September 2014. He featured three times for the Azzurri during Euro 2016 and has so far played 14 times for his country, scoring once and providing three assists.
The Prospects
Given the afore-mentioned injuries to Carroll and Ayew, it’s expected that Zaza will be West Ham’s first choice striker for the time being – ahead of Jonathan Calleri, Enner Valencia and Ashley Fletcher in the pecking order.
The Italian could be a little short of match fitness having failed to feature for Juve during their first two league matches, but he did register some minutes in pre-season, including an appearance against the Hammers, where he scored the winning goal in a 3-2 win for the Serie A champions.
It’s expected that the new boy will come in at 7.0 or 7.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), and with the Hammers likely to be boosted by the return of the hugely influential Dimitri Payet after the international break, Zaza should be on the end of a decent supply line, which also includes the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and Sofiane Feghouli, another who should return to full fitness over the next couple of weeks.
Zaza impressively averaged a goal attempt every 22.1 minutes last season, which was better than both Carroll (27.6) and Ayew (45.4), although the later did play on the right wing in the majority of his appearances whilst playing for Swansea.
The Italian is not really a target man, though, winning just 17 of his 35 aerial duels last season, relying instead on his clever movement and calmness in front of goal. Zaza isn’t blessed with exceptional pace, though, so it appears he will be heavily reliant on chances being created for him.
Bearing in mind that most Fantasy managers are currently holding Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, Zaza may well turn out to be a viable option in that crucial mid-price bracket if he can take advantage of some promising fixtures to follow. Obviously a potential ban for Aguero would force a reassessment.
West Ham are braced for four favourable home clashes (WAT, wba, SOT, MID, cpl, SUN) in the next six Gameweeks, promoting the appeal of an attack that found the net 65 times last term.
Although a fit-again Payet looks the Hammers’ likeliest source of returns, Zaza – if he can up his match sharpness over the international break – has the potential to hit the ground running.
If you’re eyeing up the West Ham options, Antonio – at 7.0 – is also one to monitor after taking his tally to two goals in as many matches with a weekend header away to City. The downside, however, is that the versatile former Forest man is just as likely to be fielded in defence, judging by Bilic’s team sheets, though a move to the attacking midfield three could yet see him emerge as one of the best mid-price options in the centre of the park.
