Ruthless West Ham to sacrifice wasteful signing for attacking talent long admired by Leeds
West Ham United are considering a swap deal with AC Milan involving Gianluca Scamacca and Charles De Ketelaere, according to reports in Italy.
Scamacca signed for West Ham last summer from Sassuolo in a big-money move. However, the striker has struggled to meet expectations in the Premier League. He has only scored three top-flight goals from 16 appearances so far.
Therefore, there have already been rumours that West Ham could get rid of Scamacca after one season. A return to Serie A would seem to be the most likely outcome in that case.
And it appears AC Milan are becoming one of the most serious contenders for Scamacca’s signature. According to Telelombardia, the idea of a swap deal is materialising.
In order to take Scamacca away from West Ham, Milan could put De Ketelaere on the table. Similarly, he has disappointed at his current club since a summer 2022 transfer.
De Ketelaere remains goalless from his first 35 appearances for Milan since leaving Club Brugge. He has also only been able to provide one assist.
Therefore, De Ketelaere faces a battle to convince Milan of his worth. After rewarding him with a contract until 2027, the most likely solution might be for them to loan him out.
Likewise, West Ham have Scamacca under contract for the same amount of time. Therefore, they could also prefer a loan exit for him, in case his transfer value has dropped since last year.
Should their plans match up, Milan and West Ham might just let each other have Scamacca and De Ketelaere respectively.
West Ham rival Leeds for De Ketelaere
Earlier this month, TEAMtalk exclusively revealed that De Ketelaere is also back on the radar of Leeds United, who rivalled Milan for his signature last summer.
Hence, the 22-year-old could have a couple of routes into English football if he decides to turn his back on Milan.
Leeds are currently battling against relegation, whereas West Ham seem to be pulling away from the pack of clubs in danger of a drop to the Championship.
Furthermore, the Hammers could yet have European football on offer again next season, since winning the Europa Conference League would qualify them for the Europa League in 2023-24.
Therefore, they could be an attractive destination for De Ketelaere, while Scamacca might relish the chance to showcase his talent in his own native country again. During his last season with Sassuolo, Scamacca scored 16 goals from 36 league games.
Milan may need a new striker in the summer after ex-Liverpool forward Divock Origi failed to impress in his debut season at San Siro.
Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are hardly options for the long term, which means the Rossoneri may need to evolve their frontline.
