West Ham United have completed the signing of striker Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo for a fee of around £35.5m.
The 23-year-old Italy international has penned a five-year contract at the London Stadium, with the option of an extra year, and has become the Hammers' fourth signing of the summer window.
Centre-back Nayef Aguerd was the first fresh face to arrive in East London following his £30m switch from Rennes, while Alphonse Areola has made his loan move from Paris Saint-Germain permanent for around £7.75m.
Lifelong Hammers fan Flynn Downes has also joined the club this summer, with the midfielder arriving from Swansea City for a fee which could rise up to £14m.
Ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, Sports Mole takes a look at how European-hopefuls West Ham could line up with all four of their new recruits in David Moyes's starting lineup.
With Areola committing his future to West Ham for the long-term, the French goalkeeper will be hoping to displace 37-year-old Lukasz Fabianski as the club's number one next season. Areola was a key figure for the Hammers on their route to the Europa League semi-finals last season, but he only started once in the Premier League.
New arrival Aguerd – a 6ft 2in Morocco international who helped Rennes keep 12 Ligue 1 clean sheets last season – is set to compete with fellow left-footed centre-back Angelo Ogbonna for a place in the heart of the defence, while Craig Dawson, Kurt Zouma and Issa Diop battle it out for the right-sided centre-back position.
While Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson are set to be rotated at right-back throughout the season, Aaron Cresswell is regarded as Moyes's first-choice option at left-back, although that could soon change amid reports linking West Ham with a move for Eintracht Frankfurt's versatile wideman Filip Kostic.
Arguably the first name on the teamsheet is star midfielder Declan Rice, who remains at the club despite interest from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, and he is expected to be named West Ham's new captain following the retirement of club legend Mark Noble.
With Rice indispensable in the middle of the pitch, new arrival Downes will be hoping to force his way into the first XI ahead of Tomas Soucek, who has been linked with a potential exit from the London Stadium in recent months.
Downes, 23, quickly developed into an important player for Swansea in his one and only season at the club last year, and he had the best pass completion rate (93%) of any player in England's top-four divisions, with Rice (91%) narrowly behind him in second place.
Further up the pitch, Pablo Fornals is regarded as an important cog in Moyes's machine and played more minutes than any other Hammers player across all competitions last season. The Spaniard can operate down both flanks or in a number 10 role, but is expected to feature predominantly in the latter position, competing with Manuel Lanzini and Nikola Vlasic for regular starts.
Fornals could also provide competition for Said Benrahma on the left wing, while Jarrod Bowen – who enjoyed a stellar 2021-22 campaign for the Hammers, contributing to 30 goals in 50 games – is seemingly a nailed-on starter on the right flank.
Michail Antonio was West Ham's only recognised number nine last season, but the 32-year-old now has 6ft 5in target man Scamacca to contend with for a place in Moyes's first XI. Antonio has experience operating on the wing from earlier in his career, and he could potentially feature in wide areas this season if Moyes opts to play both the Jamaican and Scamacca in the same team.
Scamacca is expected to feature regularly down the middle for the Hammers and will be hoping to build on an impressive 2021-22 season in front of goal for Sassuolo, which saw him net 16 times in 36 Serie A appearances.
Oliver Thomas
