West Ham may be forced to sign flop Simone Zaza at the end of the season, report Football Italia.
Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta has been quoted by Football Italia claiming that the Hammers may be stuck with the Italian international, despite his poor start to life in England: “We loaned Zaza to West Ham for €5m, the obligation to buy will be triggered at 14 appearances, regardless of time on the pitch.”
Zaza currently has seven under his belt for Slaven Bilic’s side, if he makes seven more the club will have no choice but to sign him on a permanent basis.
The 25-year-old is yet to score for West Ham and he has been less than convincing in his first showings in English football. He scored eight goals in all competitions for Juventus last campaign but hasn’t looked remotely threatening in claret and blue.
He also made a mockery of himself in the European champions in the summer. After an unusual penalty run-up and subsequent miss, Zaza was slated on social media.
Don't give Zaza a penalty or we'll be here for days. pic.twitter.com/nE2NEFZml1
— Coral (@Coral) September 25, 2016
If Zaza can’t turn his form around, perhaps Bilic should omit him from the squad entirely so West Ham aren’t forced to keep hold of him.