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West Ham should have placed faith in Zaza as La Liga heroics continue

Slaven Bilic, Manager of West Ham United looks on prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion at London ...
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West Ham fans must be ruing their club’s decision to get rid of Italy international Simone Zaza.

Valencia's Italian forward Simone Zaza (R) kicks the ball to score a goal during the Spanish league football match Valencia CF vs Sevilla FC at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on October...Zaza is on fire for Valencia.

It is difficult to pick out any of West Ham’s current squad that has started the 2017-18 campaign positively.

Friday night’s 3-0 loss to Brighton in the Premier League at the London Stadium just about sums up their season so far, with manager Slaven Bilic under more pressure than ever before as his side sit in 16th.

New signings Joe Hart, Javier Hernandez, Marko Arnautovic and Pablo Zabaleta are all yet to find their feet in east London, so what is more infuriating than seeing one of their former flops ripping up La Liga?

Mathew Ryan of Brighton and Hove Albion saves from Javier Hernandez of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion at London...Hernandez blocked in trying to score.

Simone Zaza has been in red-hot form for Valencia this season, amassing an impressive eight goals in his nine league games this season including a marvellous hat-trick against Malaga.

The 26-year-old is showing the kind of form that saw Bilic lure him to the London Stadium on loan from Juventus last season, before he failed to find the back of the net in any of his 11 appearances in claret and blue.

It begs the question; is it that West Ham are signing the wrong players, or are players failing to reach their maximum potential with Bilic in charge?

Simone Zaza of West Ham United reacts during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Sunderland at Olympic Stadium on October 22, 2016 in London, England.Zaza at West Ham.

Zaza’s form at Valencia would certainly suggest the latter. The Hammers will be desperate to find themselves a striker who can fire them towards the top half of the Premier League, with Hernandez, Andy Carroll or Diafra Sakho yet to show that precision in front of goal.

Keeping Zaza, if he was replicating his current form for West Ham instead of Valencia, would certainly see Hammers fans looking up the table rather than down it.