Zaza is expected to make his Hammers debut against Watford on Saturday.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has said, via the Daily Star, that Simone Zaza is everything he wants from a centre-forward, and insisted that he is not rushing the Italian into action.
Zaza joined the Hammers on a season-long loan from Juventus before the close of the transfer window, and is expected to make his debut for the club in Saturday’s clash with Watford.
The signing of the 25-year-old was the culmination of a summer-long hunt for a top-class striker, with approaches for such stars as Alexandre Lacazette and Carlos Bacca ultimately unsuccessful.
However, Bilic has insisted that Zaza is no poor replacement, suggesting that the forward has all of the qualities that are desirable in a quality attacker.
Bilic said, via the Daily Star: “He is a player of quality, he has shown me in training and now he has to show it on the pitch in a proper game in a stadium. On paper, on DVDs and whatever and when you talk to him he’s got all the qualities that we need from a centre-forward and hopefully he’s going to click straight away.”
There has been some suggestion that Zaza is being rushed into action, such is West Ham’s relief at securing an apparent solution to their attacking problems.
However, Bilic went on to insist that the star is fit and ready for action despite not yet having time to settle into life at the London Stadium.
The Croatian boss continued: “He wants to start. I spoke to him and watched him in training and everything. He’s ready and I think he will play.
“We are not rushing him. Okay, he didn’t do a pre-season with us. But it’s not like he only came yesterday. He has been training with us for a couple of weeks. It’s not as if he is going to play because we don’t have anyone. We have. We have three strikers now who are really good to play.”
Hammers fans will be keen to see their marquee signing in action, and will be hoping that he can hit the ground running on Saturday.
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