Simone Zaza looks set to make his debut for West Ham United against Watford on Saturday afternoon with the backing of one his international teammates.
Simone Zaza
The Hammers were actually one of the busiest clubs of the window.
Bilic kicked things off by releasing the likes Alex Song, Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses from loan deals.
He also sanctioned the £10 million sale of defender James Tomkins to London rivals Crystal Palace.
West Ham brought in 13 players in total signing Manuel Lanzini, Havard Nordtveit, Toni Martinez, Domingos Quina, Sofiane Feghouli, Ashley Fletcher, Gokhan Tore (loan), Arthur Masuaku, Jonathan Calleri (loan), Edmilson Ferdnandes, Alvaro Arbeloa and broke their transfer record with the £20.5 signing of Andre Ayew from Swansea City.
The club looks set to break that record further still when – as expected – loan striker Simeone Zaza plays the 15 games that will trigger West Ham’s obligation to buy him for £25m from Juventus.
West Ham fans will hope to see Zaza doing plenty of this
He is undoubtedly the star capture of West Ham’s transfer window but despite his CV Zaza will still have to adapt and prove himself in the increasingly competitive Premier League.
The Italian striker was actually left out of new Azzurri boss Giampiero Ventura’s first squad last week and has it all to prove.
But in an interview with whufc.com one of his international teammates – and now his clubmate – Angelo Ogbonna has backed Zaza to strike up an instant rapport with the West Ham faithful.
Angelo Ogbonna has backed Zaza to be a big hit
“I am looking forward to teaming up with my Italian team-mate Simone Zaza for the first time this weekend,” Ogbonna told the club’s official website.
“I know our fans will get behind him and he will relish that type of support. It will hopefully motivate him to show his best form and we all know the qualities he will bring to the side.
“Zaza is one of the best strikers and we have an international forward coming into the squad that can help us challenge with the other teams.”
Three qualities Hammers fans will love about Zaza
Work ethic
West Ham fans love a skilful player but more than that they love someone who works hard and gets stuck in.
Zaza is the perfect fit because he will close down full backs, harry defenders and chase lost causes. He is also not afraid to defend from the front and there are great clips of the former Sassulo star putting in some sliding tackles Ogbonna would be proud of.
Zaza possesses a deadly left foot
Left foot finishing
Left footed strikers are pretty rare nowadays and in Zaza West Ham have one of them. It presents a problem for opposition defenders who are used to playing against right footers most of the time.
The Hammers have had a couple of left-footed strikers in recent memory with Bobby Zamora and Dean Ashton both fans’ favourites.
Hornets boss and Zaza’s fellow Italian Walter Mazzarri will be well aware of the threat he poses, though, and in that respect it may not actually be the ideal first game for the striker.
His finishing will make him one of the Premier League’s most deadly strikers and offers Slaven Bilic so many options of how to line-up in attack.
Pace
The Hammers let one of their quickest players Enner Valencia leave for Everton on deadline day, but Zaza is no slouch. The towering Italian is quick off the mark, super fit, has a great injury record and pace to burn.
He may even surprise defences with just how quick he is – as he did against West Ham when he sprang the offside trap and accelerated away from Reece Oxford to net the winner in Juventus’ 3-2 victory at the official opening of the London Stadium last month.
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