After witnessing Simone Zaza’s notorious – and albeit spectacular – penalty miss at Euro 2016, golf equipment would have been forgiven for halting any curiosity within the striker, such was the shambolic nature of the Italian’s stuttering run-up and blazed effort in a recreation of such magnitude.
No strangers to creating daring – and infrequently weird – offers within the switch market, although, West Ham United had been unperturbed by that spot-kick horror present, ultimately signing the participant from Juventus on a season-long mortgage deal later that summer time.
Hindsight is an exquisite factor in soccer, with GSB possible wishing that they had heeded the warning indicators, because the journeyman ahead went on to distinctly underwhelm in a Hammers shirt.
One of many notable names to have did not make the grade for the east London outfit during the last decade or so, Zaza’s time in English soccer is solely noteworthy for simply how temporary it was and the way little affect he made.
Having been signed for a reported £5m mortgage payment by then-Irons supervisor Slaven Bilic, the Policoro native went on to function simply 11 occasions for the membership in all competitions, spending a mere 571 minutes on the pitch and failing to register a single objective.
In the tip, all that got here of his Premier League stint was two yellow playing cards, with these bookings costing the membership £2.5m apiece in relation to his mortgage payment.
Should Zaza have been given extra time at West Ham?
Not for me!
Yes
Such was the dire nature of Zaza’s time in east London, Bilic and co ultimately severed ties with the participant only a matter of months into his mortgage spell so as to keep away from having to pay an appearance-related £20m buy possibility, because the striker secured a January transfer to La Liga aspect Valencia.
Upon his departure, the Italian’s father insisted that it had been a “huge mistake” to make the transfer to the London Stadium, with the membership and their supporters seemingly pondering the identical.
Since then, the 30-year-old has considerably light from view, ultimately making his return to Italy after an 18-month stint in Spain, with the 18-cap worldwide now plying his commerce for Serie A outfit Torino.
He has scored simply 20 objectives in 102 video games throughout all competitions for his present membership, notably failing to seek out the web in ten league appearances thus far this time period, all of which have come as an alternative.
Such has been Zaza’s decline since his stint within the Premier League, he is now valued at simply £1.8m by Transfermarkt, regardless of having reached a peak of £22.8m again in January 2018 after a quick purple patch on the Mestalla.
As for West Ham, the one saving grace is that they hadn’t agreed to a everlasting deal within the first place, with Simone Zaza now simply one other title on their record of failed centre-forward additions.
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