West Ham are not playing misfiring striker Simone Zaza as they will be forced to sign him for £17 million if he makes three more appearances, report Football Italia.
Zaza joined the Hammers in the summer window on a season-long loan from Juventus. He has endured a horror start to life in the Premier League, however, and failed to score in any of his opening 11 games for the club.
He has not featured since the 30th of November, and West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has revealed the reason why. Football Italia cite Sky Sports in quoting Bilic: “His deal becoming permanent after 14 games? That’s why he hasn’t been part of the squad in recent games.”
Football Italia believe that West Ham will be forced to sign Zaza for £17 million if he reaches 14 appearances for the club. After his poor start to life at the London Stadium, it is clear to see why the Hammers are unwilling to pay that fee.
There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for Zaza as he begins to gather dust at West Ham – he may have to sit out the entirety of this season.