West Ham United boss David Moyes has challenged Gianluca Scamacca to up his game after being an unused substitute. 1-1 draw with Aston Villa At the London Stadium
The Italian watched on as Said Ben Rahma’s penalty earned the Hammers a crucial point in their bid to stave off relegation, with Danny Ings picked up from the start to replace the injured Michael Antonio.
Skamaka, who signed for West Ham in a potentially £35million deal, showed promise in the early months of the season – particularly in the Europa Conference League – but has been on the mend since the start of the year.
Moyes turned to Maxwell Cornet instead of Escamaca when Ings were sent off in search of the winning goal, leaving many supporters wondering why the 24-year-old was being overlooked.
Asked what Skamka needed to do to regain his place, the Scot said in his post-match press conference: “His link-up play is great, he enjoys the game.
“We know his physical data has gotten a lot better than that but even today, Maxie Cornett, thought he could go after them and go, we probably did and we did about three or four times. did that
Read next
“Even Maxi had half chances, whether it was onside or offside. We saw Maxi do that more than Gianluca.
“Gianluca has to get himself back, as a manager, no manager wants to bring out a bad team, you want to bring out the players that you think are going to win for you, so you always give your best. Always strives to present the team. Out”
When pressed to explain what he meant, Moyes added about Escamaca’s work ethic: “No, I think the application is there, I think we just want the output to be Be bigger and more, that’s one of the things we’re looking for more of.
“The general part of his play, his hold-up play, we love him for that, he’s really good at it and we haven’t seen him as much as we’ve been doing.”
West Ham are now 17th in the table and are only above Bournemouth, who beat Liverpool 1-0 on goal difference on Saturday.
Analysis
🗣 #WHUFC David Moyes suggested in his post-match presser that Gianluca Scamacca wasn’t showing enough – saying his “physical data has improved a lot” and “you want to keep the players out that you “I think you’re going to win.”
West Ham don’t need a bench of £35m signings. pic.twitter.com/iuIcXJqcI4
— Toby Cudworth (@Toby_Cudworth) March 12, 2023
West Ham’s performance against Aston Villa was relatively bright and indicative of their generally better form at home.
Said Bennerhama and Jarrod Bowen, playing either side of Danny Ings, provided the Hammers with the main attacking threat, and it was they who looked capable of securing the three points they desperately needed. But a failure to take chances, which has summed up West Ham’s season, saw Villa take a point back to the Midlands. They could even steal the three late.
It cannot be denied that Ings was quite ineffective against his former club. He’s a poacher, a scorer and good at keeping the team’s formation out of control, but is that enough? Goals will ultimately keep West Ham in the Premier League but contributions in the build-up phase are also vital – there’s more than one way to skin a cat. The same can be said about Moyes’ strategy.
Skamaka is a powerful center forward who is powerful in the air as well as a powerful shot. The problem for West Ham is that he does not, in Moyes’ current opinion anyway, offer enough in terms of movement – both on and off the ball. There are also question marks about his general sophistication and how he has adapted to the pace of the Premier League.
What is clear is that West Ham and Moises cannot afford to make the same mistake with Escamaca as they did with Sebastian Haller. He achieved great things at Ajax and later Borussia Dortmund, and there is a sense that Skamaka has all the tools to deliver like Haller if he is playing in the right environment.