West Ham United have endured a rollercoaster of a year, from the disappointment of finishing in 14th place in the Premier League to the highs of securing their first piece of silverware in 43 years as they won the Europa Conference League in June.
Having subsequently qualified for the Europa League, the Hammers overhauled their squad significantly last summer, receiving a staggering £105m from Arsenal for their captain Declan Rice and used that war chest of funds to bring in several quality additions.
The likes of James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus have hit the ground running in claret and blue, with Ward-Prowse, in particular, projecting magic from his wand of a right foot having produced a whopping ten assists in his first 17 appearances.
While that trio represent astute pieces of business, West Ham haven't always hit the sweet spot in the recruitment department, as demonstrated by their tendency to throw away large sums of money.
David Moyes has been backed by the board with plenty of funds to bolster his squad and chronic spending in the window has largely resulted in their trophy-winning success.
Unfortunately, there have been a number of questionable moves made by the Scotsman during his time at the London Stadium and the decision to pay £35.5m for Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo in 2022 was one of them.
While it didn't work out for the Italian in east London as he was instantly offloaded to Atalanta this year for £27m, the misfiring marksman has now outscored current West Ham striker, Michail Antonio, since leaving the club.
Scamacca's goal record for West Ham
Scamacca ticked the box of every attribute Moyes looks for in a striker – aerially dominant, incredibly strong at holding up the ball and a clinical finisher in the box.
It was those above attributes – married with his goal record – that got supporters salivating over the prospect of seeing him become the talismanic figure in the Hammers attack.
He arrived in England on the back of a 16-goal season in Serie A, an impressive tally which saw him finish above the likes of Victor Osimhen, Edin Dzeko and Rafael Leao in the scoring charts.
The 6 foot 5 brute was the perfect fit in Moyes' direct system, he had the physicality to deal with the challenges presented in the Premier League and the scoring record to boot, but he still struggled – like many before him – to carry his scoring powers across to the London Stadium.
Sebastien Haller, for instance, is someone who served as a timely reminder that strikers tend to lose their scoring touch in claret and blue but rediscover it after departing.
In 54 appearances for the Irons, he only scored 14 goals, however, once he joined Ajax in January 2021, he became one of the deadliest strikers in Europe, outscoring the likes of Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2021/22 Champions League campaign with an eye-watering 11 goals in eight appearances.
It appears that being released from the shackles of a Moyes system does wonders for a striker's exploits in front of goal with Scamacca following that trend.
While he only netted three goals in 16 Premier League appearances for the club, he has gone on to become a revelation for Atalanta so far.
Scamacca's goal record for Atalanta
Since returning to Italian shores, Scamacca's confidence has gone through the roof and this was demonstrated by his audacious backheel goal against Empoli which saw him win the Serie A Goal of the Month award.
That delightful piece of skill didn't just earn him that accolade but also drew in a whole host of plaudits with journalist Zach Lowy labelling the 24-year-old as "sensational" for managing to pull it off.
One of five goals he's scored in nine Serie A appearances this term, the West Ham flop is flying for the Champions League challengers, who are currently one point behind fourth-place Napoli in the table.
What's more impressive about Scamacca's goal record, he's scoring at a rate of 100 mins per goal – a statistic only bettered by Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez – who tops the charts with 12 goals this season.
Progressive passes received
10.80 / top 2%
Shots total
4.68 / top 2%
Non-penalty goals
0.90 / top 6%
Carries
30.06 / top 9%
Touches (Att Pen)
6.84 / top 9%
Goal-creating actions
0.54 / top 13%
Assists
0.18 / top 20%
Successful take-ons
1.62 / top 24%
All stats via FBref
As shown by the table above, when comparing his attacking statistics to his positional peers in the division, Scamacca's metrics prove that he's one of the most dangerous strikers.
If only Moyes persevered with a man who has outscored Antonio since departing the club, perhaps he would have thrived with the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Kudus, Paqueta and Ward-Prowse feeding him.
Michail Antonio's statistics this season
Antonio's rapid decline this season – and their failure to replace him – has made the decision to sell Scamacca look even worse.
The Jamaican powerhouse – who boldly stated earlier this year that Scamacca was not suited to Moyes' style of play – has only scored twice in 12 appearances this term and is currently on a barren streak of nine matches without a goal.
To make matters worse, it isn't just in the goal department where the 33-year-old has let the Hammers down, producing just 0.8 shots per game, an xG of 1.85, a measly pass completion of 63% and only one big chance created, as per Sofascore.
If West Ham have aspirations of becoming regular European challengers, they'll need to sign a quality striker to replace Antonio, which is something they've failed to do in recent years.
While it is difficult to rue the decision to sell a striker who only netted three times in 16 top-flight matches, the Hammers could regret not putting that money to good use last summer come the end of the season, unless they splash the cash on a prolific striker in January.