Irons & Roma Striker Swap?

It might be a case of adding two and two and getting five, however there does seem to be some legs on the stories emanating from both Roma and West Ham that there could potentially be a swap deal in the offing between both clubs involving strikers Tammy Abraham and Gianluca Scamacca.

Scamacca has endured a torrid time in England and Tammy has fallen out of favour at Roma and is also longing to return to the Premier League, having 'experienced' a full course of Italian culture during his tenure with Jose Mourinho in Rome.

There would be some form of financial adjustment if a deal is done due to Roma's £40 Million plus valuation of the ex-Chelsea striker, but the deal would value Scamacca at £35 Million so the difference in valuations would not be a deal breaker in the slightest.

Would it be good for West Ham? There are those who say that Hammers have 'taken the pain' with the Scamacca transfer due to his injuries and should now reap the benefit of a fully fit and reinvigorated Scamacca, whereas others feel the Italian is NOT suited to the remorseless pace of the Premier League.

Abrahams could slot straight into a West Ham team IF he is given enough game time, Scamacca could walk in to the Roma team and be welcomed with open arms. A lot depends on who is going to be in charge of what at BOTH clubs, as each are in the process of assessing how to move forward.

Having already been severely 'mauled' by the Sebastien Haller transfer, West Ham will be keen to avoid a repeat and may well see a swap deal as the best way to recoup any potential loss. It makes business sense but fans will feel the only reason Scamacca really wants to return to Italy is because of David Moyes' reluctance to alter his 'fixed', some say totally stubborn, approach to how he sets his team up!

Big Mikey Antonio is well on the wrong side of thirty and will obviously need replacing at some point in the future so the club MUST avoid a situation where they are totally reliant on the big fellows hamstrings 'holding out' through the entire season although his fitness levels have improved dramatically die to a dietary reset and a different playing style.

Exchange deals are loved by the bean counters at clubs, especially when they factor in 'player ammortisation' which is their smoke and mirrors way of manipulating end of year accounts. Unfortunaterly Hammers lack the resources to be able to keep Scamacca AND bring another top striker to the club, there is also the fact that 'top' strikers want to be 'top dog'.

A difficult conundrum to solve but things could work out well, but then again there is no guarantee that Tammy Abraham wants to come to West Ham and may feel that he should be playing for a 'bigger club'. Only time will tell, but the striker situation HAS to be resolved well before the start of next season, irrespective of who is in charge of the club!- Ed