West Ham United attacker, Gianluca Scammacca has expressed his strong desire to return "home" and join the Serie A club Roma. Despite scoring 16 goals for Sassuolo in the 2021-22 season, Scamacca departed his native Italy last summer to join West Ham in a transfer deal worth up to £35.5 million. However, the 24-year-old faced difficulties in making the desired impact at the London Stadium.
Throughout the previous season, Scamacca managed only three goals in 11 starts and five appearances as a substitute in the Premier League. Furthermore, his debut campaign was cut short in March due to knee surgery. Nonetheless, the Italian international contributed three goals in the Europa Conference League, where David Moyes's team triumphed, securing their first European trophy in 58 years by defeating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final last month.
While Scamacca still has four years remaining on his West Ham contract, he is reportedly eager to return to Italy and has expressed interest in a potential transfer to Roma, where he would have the opportunity to work under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.
"Rome is home to me," Scamacca said in an interview for Gazetta dello Sport. "Francesco Totti has been my idol since I was a kid and which player wouldn't dream of being coached by Mourinho? I am convinced he would motivate me and I would improve even more."
When questioned about his preferred destination in the event of leaving West Ham, Scamacca replied, "I have always made decisions based on my heart, and I will continue to do so. You know which team holds a special place in my heart, but for now, I am a West Ham player, and I am content here."
Scamacca acknowledges that injuries played a significant role in his difficult first season at West Ham. He stated:
"Perhaps people don't know it, but I played all season with a broken meniscus, at some point, it was impossible to continue and I underwent surgery.
"I scored eight goals in 37 games until March. It could have been better, but even worse. The Conference League was our target since the start of the season. I didn't play in the final against Fiorentina, but of course I feel I also won the trophy having scored three goals in seven games.
"If I return to Serie A is not because I've failed in England. Simply, it would be an irrefutable chance. It wouldn't be a step back, our league is one of the best."
