Scamacca is fourth choice and he knows it

By Gonzo

The picture itself speaks a thousand words. Taken by a West Ham fan during the game against Aston Villa, it shows a dejected Gianluca Scamacca slumped by the advertising hoardings.

In the minutes prior to the picture being taken, manager David Moyes had instructed our £35m summer signing to warm up and ready himself for battle.

Danny Ings had been ineffective during the game with only 10 touches of the ball. Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen on the other hand were arguably the best players on the pitch, so it made sense to introduce another player into the attack.

My own personal choice would have been to withdraw the anonymous Tomas Soucek as well as Ings, and play with Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet up front to get the win.

David Moyes thought differently though, he withdrew Danny Ings and replaced him with Cornet. If any further evidence was required that the Italian front man had no future at West Ham it was at that moment.

The substitution demonstrated that Ings is Moyes first choice striker and in the event of Michail Antonio being injured, Cornet will be back-up.

Scamacca looks to be crestfallen. A man completely aware that he’s an unwanted 4th choice striker for a struggling club. A £35m purchase who can’t find a way into a goal-shy relegation team.

He’s not the only person at the club frustrated and demotivated by the safety first approach from the Hammers manager, who decided to have another dig at the fan-base in his post match interview.

But I feel sorry for Scamacca. Much like Sebatien Haller he is completely unsuited to David Moyes tactics. Unfortunately it seems that the very chap who sanctioned the transfer for the player has how come to realise the same thing.