Gianluca Scamacca knows nothing less than 100 per cent commitment will suffice when West Ham United travel to Leeds United.
The Irons face the Peacocks at Elland Road on Wednesday in their first match of 2023, with the squad raring to earn a much-needed Premier League win after a difficult run of form.
For Scamacca, the last few months have given the forward the chance to learn about English football. The intensity in each fixture is consistently higher than in his native Italy, and the No7 knows what awaits him and his teammates.
“My teammates haven’t told me anything specific about the atmosphere at Leeds, but I think every stadium in England is hard to play at,” he said. “It will be a hard match and we will need to give 100 per cent.
“The Premier League is totally different from Serie A. In Italy, the football can be more tactical and lower in intensity. I would say only five or six matches in the season are of high intensity. But here, every match has that high intensity and is hard.”
The Rome native – who celebrated his 24th birthday on New Year’s Day – has scored six goals since joining the Hammers in the summer and is relishing life living in London.
“Rome is home. For me, it’s the best city and it has everything; culture, food and weather! It’s the best city. But my time in England has good so far.
“I have settled in really quickly. My teammates have helped me a lot and London is a beautiful city, and I’ve found it easy to adapt and settle here.”
In joining West Ham, Scamacca became the eighth Italian to represent the Claret and Blue, following the likes of fellow attackers Paolo Di Canio and Alessandro Diamanti, and stalwart defender Angelo Ogbonna.
Another, in Emerson Palmieri, has since joined the Club, but Scamacca insists his decision to move to the Irons was purely down to West Ham's standing.
He added: “I knew about the Italian history at West Ham. But I didn’t come for this. I came for the Premier League and West Ham is a great Club with a lot of history.”
