Inter Milan walked away from a deal to sign Gianluca Scamacca before Premier League outfit West Ham United agreed a deal with Atalanta over the summer.
That is according to Beppe Marotta, Inter Milan’s highly-experienced CEO.
The Nerazzuri, Marotta explains, did show an interest in Gianluca Scamacca when it became clear that David Moyes was willing to let the striker go after an underwhelming, injury-hit season at West Ham United.
But reports suggesting that the Italy international rejected Inter in favour of Atalanta are, the former Juventus chief argues, wide of the mark.
Former West Ham man Gianluca Scamacca shines in Serie A
“We asked around and looked at various profiles, including Scamacca, to build an attacking unit with four elements of real quality for a packed fixture list,” Marotta tells DAZN.
“We withdrew (from negotiations) because there were not the right conditions to proceed. When people say that Scamacca chose Atalanta and rejected Inter, that is not true. Because, by the time Atalanta opened up their negotiations, we had already taken a step back.
“So we have absolutely no problem with his decision, and we went to look at other profiles.”
Scamacca scored again as Atalanta played hosts to Inter on Sunday, though the visitors were already 2-0 up by that point and heading back to the Serie A summit. The former West Ham benchwarmer now has five goals in five starts since returning to Italy, his return to form in stark contrast to the strikers currently at Moyes’ disposal.
Five goals in five starts for Atalanta
Danny Ings is a pale imitation of the man who took on a talismanic role at Southampton, while Michail Antonio’s goal drought continued with a genuine Miss of the Season contender against Brentford on Saturday.
“(Atalanta coach Gian Piero) Gasperini pays particular attention to the front line. We share this thought. We strongly believed in and wanted Scamacca because we were certain of bringing back to Italy a striker with great potential. And, for this reason, we invested a lot to buy him,” Luca Percassi, CEO the son of La Dea president Antonio, tells Tuttosport.
“He and the other new arrivals will help us. It is a source of great pride. We think we have very interesting forwards.”
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