Atalanta have already lined up a replacement for Rasmus Hojlund following the striker’s transfer to Manchester United was announced on Saturday.
Hojlund joined the Red Devils for a fee rising to £72m, signing a five-year contract with the option for a further year.
The deal represent a massive profit for the Italian club, who bought the player from Sturm Graz for around £14m less than a year ago. He subsequently started 20 games and scored 10 goals in all competitions.
Atalanta are already in the process of spending that money on new recruits, with the club keen to sign a replacement for Hojlund soon.
They identified West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca as the man to take the Dane’s position up top, with The Athletic reporting that a deal is “close”.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also reports that the deal is “done”, with an initial transfer fee of €25m agreed between the two clubs. A further €5m in “easy add-ons” is included in the deal. That means the Hammers could recoup up to £26m on a transfer that cost them over £30m just last summer.
Scamacca arrived in 2022 with expectations of being a prolific number nine for West Ham, but he struggled to make an impact in the Premier League. He was in and out of the first team, scoring eight goals in 27 appearances in all competitions.
Speaking last July, Scamacca told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “If I had to return to Serie A, it wouldn’t be because I failed in England, that’s not the case. Simply because it would be an unmissable opportunity. No, it wouldn’t even be a step backward for my career: our league remains one of the best.”
The Italian scored 16 goals for Roma the season before he joined West Ham, but there will be pressure on him to fill the void left by new Man United striker Rasmus Hojlund.
