West Ham have taken the first step towards replacing Gianluca Scamacca with a more potent striker who’s already made his mark on two of the Premier League’s finest, per a report.

Scamacca, 24, was a £35.5m (including future add-ons) signing from Sassuolo last summer. The Italy international arrived with high expectations, though has struggled to show his best in England.

Indeed, he’s notched just three goals in 16 league appearances. As a result, he’s fallen behind Michail Antonio in the pecking order in 2023.

West Ham have already been linked with cutting their Scamacca experiment short even if they avoid relegation. While he’s not thrived in England, he’ll still have an abundance of suitors prepared to bring him back to Italy.

But before any sale can be sanctioned, West Ham must first line up a direct replacement.

On that front, Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) shed light on another Italy international taking the Hammers’ fancy.

Mateo Retegui is the man in question, with the 23-year-old attracting mass attention on the back of his exploits for Italy last week.

Retegui was born in Argentina but opted to represent Roberto Mancini’s Italy side when offered the chance. He qualifies for Italy through his grandparents.

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Retegui leaves Stones, Maguire flailing

Retegui led the line in Italy’s 2-1 defeat to England last week and notched on his debut.

The lively centre-forward peeled off the back of John Stones and calmly slotted past Jordan Pickford and into the bottom corner. Stones’ centre-back partner, Harry Maguire, was barely even in the frame and could not make up the ground on Retegui.

Retegui made it two in two when scoring against Malta on Sunday and his exploits are catching the eye.

Sport Witness report Retegui has emerged on the radars of numerous Serie A sides as well as Atletico Madrid from Spain and Frankfurt from Germany.

However, it’s West Ham and the greater financial power Premier League sides possess that could prove pivotal.

David Moyes’ side are claimed to have already asked for information on Retegui who is currently on loan at Mexican side Tigre from Boca Juniors.

Retegui’s transfer value is understood to be around €15m-€20m (approx. £13m-£17.5m). However, those figures could quickly swell if he continues to find the back of the net with regularity.

Aside from his exploits with Italy, Retegui has plundered 29 goals in 51 matches while on loan at Tigre. He’s currently two thirds of the way through a two-year loan at the club.

In the event Retegui’s price does soar, West Ham may be the only team left standing. Indeed, the report is keen to point out their greater spending power compared to their European rivals could be decisive.

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