As Gianluca Scamacca, the Italy international striker, underwent his medical at West Ham United on Tuesday, the club’s support staff counted up the big numbers. Scamacca could cost the London club more than all but two signings in their history, at over €40 million ($40.6m) from Sassuolo.
They learned his favoured shirt number is 91 - too large for Premier League rules on what a player can wear on his back. Then they jotted down his height: a towering 1.95m. West Ham have identified Scamacca, 23, as the sort of centre-forward who will trouble the best defenders in England’s top division with his high leap, his long stride and his extensive reach.
The need for a target man striker at West Ham has long been clear. The club’s climb, under David Moyes, from flirting with relegation in 2020 to European contenders - they reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, and have finished sixth and seventh in the last two Premier League campaigns - has been in part built around Michail Antonio’s successful evolution as a powerful leader of the forward line.
But Antonio has lacked a strong back-up. Scamacca looked a good fit for that role the longer West Ham scouted him, monitoring his sudden progress at Sassuolo, the upstarts of Serie A, where he scored 16 league goals in 2022-23, earning himself a place in the senior Italy squad.
Young centre-forwards are migrating in numbers to the top of the Premier League this summer, from various leading leagues. Scamacca is poised to join a procession of them. The list starts, first and foremost, with the outsized Erling Haaland, who arrived at Manchester City for around €60m at the outset of the transfer window from the Bundesliga, where he set various records for prolific, prodigious scoring with Borussia Dortmund.
Darwin Nunez, who has joined Liverpool for a fee to Benfica that could, with add-ons, rise close to €100m, was the leading scorer in Portugal’s Primeira Liga last season.
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Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's first goal during the pre-season friendly match against Bayern Munich at Lambeau Field on July 23, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Getty -
Erling Haaland celebrates with Jack Grealish and teammates after scoring Manchester City's first goal agaisnt Bayern Munich. Getty -
Erling Haaland celebrates with teammates after scoring Manchester City's first goal. Getty -
Erling Haaland takes on Leroy Sane during the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Getty -
Erling Haaland on the ball during the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Getty -
Erling Haaland celebrates with Jack Grealish after scoring Manchester City's first goal. AFP -
Erling Haaland celebrates with Rodri after scoring Manchester City's first goal. Getty -
Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's first goal. AFP -
Erling Haaland controls the ball during the first half against Bayern Munich. USA Today -
Erling Haaland scores a goal during the friendly match between Manchester City and Bayern Munich. AFP -
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller is tackled by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson. Getty -
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva reacts during the pre-season friendly match against Bayern Munich. Getty -
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne during the pre-season friendly match against Bayern Munich. Getty -
Manchester City winger Jack Grealish is tackled by Thomas Muller. AFP -
A Manchester City fan cheers on the team during the pre-season friendly match at Lambeau Field. Getty -
Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips during the pre-season friendly match against Bayern Munich. Getty -
A general view of the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City at Lambeau Field. Getty -
Erling Haaland runs with the ball during the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Getty -
Erling Haaland walks off after the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City at Lambeau Field. Getty -
Manchester City players pose for photo after the friendly match against Bayern Munich. AFP -
Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez gets past Bayern Munich's Paul Wanner. AP -
Jack Grealish, left, and Bayern Munich's Tanguy Nianzou go for the ball. AP -
Manchester City defender Joshua Wilson-Esbrand takes on Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard. AFP -
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo vies for the ball with Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry. AFP -
A general view during the pre-season friendly match between Bayern Munich and Manchester City at Lambeau Field. Getty
Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison, courted by clubs from various European leagues, both chose to remain in the Premier League they have come to know best. Jesus, after five years at City, will wear No 9 for Arsenal in the coming season, his £45m ($54.2m) transfer already promising much, the Brazilian having netted four times in pre-season games so far.
His compatriot Richarlison, who played in the middle of Everton’s front line more often than in wide roles last season, has joined Tottenham Hotspur for an initial £50m.
That means new, high-cost strikers at five of the clubs who finished in the top seven places in the last Premier League, none of them over 25 years old and several fitting the description of orthodox centre-forward. The so-called ‘false-nine’ seems suddenly less fashionable.
Haaland and Scamacca are penalty-box skyscrapers, Nunez imposing; they offer an important presence for sides built on strong service from the flanks, and in West Ham’s case, a team of well-rehearsed strategies with aerial set-pieces. Richarlison, who has scored close to one in four of his 48 Premier League career goals from headers, will also add an important physical presence for Spurs.
They all do plenty besides that, but represent a fresh tendency, alternative options for managers gearing themselves up for a domestic season where the number of possible substitutions will rise from three to five, meaning distinct attacking alternatives have added value.
It is also a season that will be interrupted by the World Cup. Clubs are investing in extra firepower in anticipation of players being vulnerable to fatigue when they return from Qatar after December.
But like Haaland, whose Norway have not qualified for the World Cup, Scamacca will not run that risk, following Italy’s surprise failure to reach Qatar 2022. It was the one significant setback of an excellent 12 months for the Rome-born forward, whose career had previously taken him to PSV Eindhoven as a teenager, and through loan spells in Serie B and back to Dutch football.
He was involved in the national set-up through its various age-groups, however, and Italy head coach Roberto Mancini earlier this month said of Scamacca: “He has everything it takes to be a leading centre-forward, and he is clear about that. Playing abroad again will give him the experience that will help him to mature.”
