West Ham’s lack of firepower has been painfully obvious so far this season.
The Hammers lost key attacking players in the summer — Mohamed Kudus departed for Spurs, club-record Premier League scorer Michail Antonio was released, and Danny Ings also exited.
While Callum Wilson has arrived and scored in the surprise 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, his age and injury history mean he can’t be relied upon to lead the line consistently.
And with no further attacking reinforcements coming in (except teenager Daniel Cummings, who’s definitely one for the future, not now), West Ham have been left short up top — and now the reason behind it has come to light.
Why West Ham Missed Out on Roberto Piccoli
In August, Corriere dello Sport, per Sports Witness, reported West Ham’s interest in Roberto Piccoli. The London club reportedly made contact to sign the Italian striker, who scored 10 Serie A goals last season.
However, the Hammers were beaten to the chase by Fiorentina, who secured Piccoli for £22 million.
At 24, Piccoli describes himself as a “technical” forward and, with Niclas Füllkrug now sidelined again due to injury, he could have been a valuable addition to Graham Potter’s squad.
Cagliari sporting director Guido Angelozzi explained to Tuttomercatoweb, per Sports Witness, how the deal unfolded.
“Fiorentina had been interested in the player for some time and wanted to speed up the purchase process,” he said. “We had several negotiations for Piccoli, with the top four in Serie A and several foreign clubs. We asked for an exorbitant fee – perhaps not even the president expected the transfer to reach that figure.”
Angelozzi added: “As for the transfers, Piccoli and Zortea were only sold for unmissable offers. Faced with certain offers, we all met together and made the decision to sell them.”
It seems West Ham’s reluctance to match the fee left them empty-handed.
Given the club’s previous struggles with signing Serie A strikers (looking at you, Gianluca Scamacca), perhaps patience was the safer approach — but with goals so desperately needed, the Hammers will hope they don’t regret missing out.
