Serie A striker Mbala Nzola has just brought an end to any hopes West Ham United or Crystal Palace may have had of luring him to the Premier League this summer.
After a difficult 2021/22 campaign, some may have wondered if the Spezia targetman was a bit of a ‘one season wonder’.
Mbala Nzola’s stunning return to form in recent months, then, was a more-than fitting riposte to those critics. The Angolan international has 15 goals in just 30 games this term, rediscovering the form that saw him compared to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba during a superb breakthrough season in Italy’s Serie A.
Mbala Nzola is not heading to West Ham or Crystal Palace
Strong, quick and an excellent link man; Nzola possesses about every attribute David Moyes tends to look for in a centre-forward. Gianluca Scamacca is facing an uncertain future and, with Michail Antonio not getting any younger, Tuttosport suggested that West Ham were weighing up a summer swoop for the £17 million-rated Nzola.
Crystal Palace are also in the market for a reliable finisher to put away the chances created by Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and co. Palace turned down Nzola long before he made his name at Spezia, but were reportedly ready to take a punt on the late-blooming 26-year-old this time around (Gazzetta dello Sport).
But, after bouncing around no fewer than six clubs between 2015 and 2020, Nzola is clearly enjoying the comforts of a more settled home.
“I’ve never had any doubts. I’m very happy to have signed this renewal that I really care a lot about,” Nzola beams after signing a new deal untl the summer of 2026 at Spezia.
“The ownership, management and the whole club made me feel important. I never felt a lack of trust in me. The same trust that the fans make me feel every day with their warmth.
“Now, (we are) all united to fight to the end!”
Tuttosport believe that West Ham owner David Sullivan has a good relationship with Nzola’s agent, the man who also represents Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna.
Those connections will count for nothing, however, as long as Nzola is committed to life at Spezia.
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