Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on the Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca.
The Italian was outstanding against Liverpool in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals and Klopp believes that he was a quality player during his time at West Ham as well.
He said to Liverpool’s official website: “He was exceptional against us. He was really, really good – in England we say he was a ‘handful’! He is difficult to play against, great in the air and great on the floor.
“I liked him when he was at West Ham, I didn’t know him too well when he came to West Ham. It didn’t work out there 100 per cent but that can happen because the Premier League is a difficult league to play but you can see he has great quality.
“I don’t know now all the other Italian strikers, to be honest, to compare them – well, I know them all but I don’t know who is in contention to be the No.9 for Italy and who is not. But, for a specific way of playing, I would say he is a fantastic option.
“He is a real focus player, he can bring the ball down, gives you time to push up, is a threat in the box, has speed as well: that’s a really interesting package. Yes, he made a big difference in that game but we didn’t make it too difficult for him as well, so we should make it a little bit more difficult tomorrow.”
Scamacca has been outstanding for Atalanta this season scoring 14 goals in all competitions. However, he was underwhelming for West Ham and he managed to score just 8 goals for them before leaving the club in a £27 million deal.
Liverpool must contain Scamacca in the second leg
It seems that the Italian was struggling to adapt to English football during his time at West Ham but he has shown his quality with Atalanta this season.
Liverpool will have to keep him quiet if they want to get through to the next round of the competition in the second leg of the competition.
The Italian outfit managed to win the first leg 3-0 and Scamacca scored a brace at Anfield. He will be hoping to pile further misery on the Liverpool defence when the two sides meet later today.