West Ham United duo Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca have not “lived up to expectations so far” at the London Stadium, journalist Pete O’Rourke has suggested to GIVEMESPORT.
The Irons duo will have been hoping to have made a greater impact for David Moyes’ side this season.
West Ham news – Lucas Paqueta, Gianluca Scamacca
There was great excitement from the West Ham faithful when the club broke their transfer record to sign Paqueta from Lyon for a fee of £51m last summer.
However, the attacking midfielder’s impact has been limited, with Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor telling GIVEMESPORT that he is unconvinced the 25-year-old suits the east London outfit.
Meanwhile, the Irons also brought in Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca in a deal that could eventually total £35.5m, but the centre-forward has found the adaptation to life in the Premier League difficult.
And O’Rourke believes that it will be “interesting” to see whether the future of the duo lies at the London Stadium after an uninspiring start to life at the club.
What has O’Rourke said about the signings of Paqueta and Scamacca?
When speaking about Paqueta and Scamacca, O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “It's going to be interesting to see what happens with both of these players.
“They were big-money signings but haven't really hit the grade or lived up to expectations at West Ham so far.
“I would probably say Paqueta has had more impact than Scamacca.
“Scamacca was brought in to try and solve West Ham's goalscoring problems, but it hasn't really worked out for him.
“I think the recent public criticism from David Moyes about Scamacca not being up to scratch with some of his stats and physicality of coping with the Premier League was quite pointed.”
How have Paqueta and Scamacca performed this season?
Paqueta and Scamacca seem to have found the transition to life in the Premier League a challenge, with neither having hit the heights they’d displayed in France and Italy respectively.
The former has hit the back of the net twice whilst providing three assists across 26 appearances for the Irons, with Moyes having used him both as a holding midfielder and as a number ten, indicating that he is unsure on the 39-cap Brazil international’s best position.
Meanwhile, Scamacca has bagged just three goals in 16 Premier League outings, though he has managed to chip in with another three strikes in seven Europa Conference League appearances, suggesting that he could be better suited to continental football rather than the English game.
With the Irons embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle, Moyes will hope that last summer’s signings can step up and perform to the levels initially expected of them, in a bid to retain the Irons’ top-flight status.