West Ham United are reportedly close to completing the signing of Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca in a deal worth £30.5million.
If the deal goes through, as is being widely reported, he will became the Hammers’ fourth signing of the summer and give David Moyes a new option up front, having had to rely on Michail Antonio for almost all of last season.
The Irons have also been strongly linked with a move to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic in a deal believed to be worth around £10m. The versatile Serbian international helped Frankfurt win the Europa League last season, beating West Ham at the semi-final stage of the competition.
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Should Moyes get both deals done, it will significantly bolster his squad, both in terms of quality and in depth. As Hammers fans hope that the double acquisition gets completed, here are three ways Moyes could line up in the 2022/23 season if both Scamacca and Kostic are signed.
Option 1 – 4-2-3-1
The first option if both signings are added would see Scamacca lead the line up front and Kostic play on the left side of the attacking trio sat behind the Italian international forward. Kostic succeeded in Germany last year playing as a left wing-back, but has played much of his career as a left midfielder/winger.
In this system, Kostic would play in a familiar role on the left wing, but it would see Pablo Fornals up front, with Scamacca’s arrival likely to see Antonio dropped unless he is used in another position.
At the back, Lukasz Fabianski would start in goal behind a back four of Vladimir Coufal, Craig Dawson, Kurt Zouma and Aaron Cresswell, with Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek forming the central midfield partnership ahead of them.
Joining Scamacca and Kostic in the front four is last season’s top scorer Jarrod Bowen on the right wing and Argentine international Manuel Lanzini in the number 10 role.
Option 2 – 3-4-2-1
Kostic’s arrival could however lead to a formation change and having thrived as a left wing-back, meaning that Moyes may consider turning to a three/five at the back formation, with Serbian Kostic as one of two wing-backs.
In this system, Coufal would move to right wing-back and summer arrival Nayef Aguerd would come into the centre-back line alongside Dawson and Zouma.
Soucek and Rice would continue their midfield partnership, with Bowen and Fornals being the two narrow wingers to play-off expected signing Scamacca up top. It may also allow Antonio and Scamacca to play alongside each other, or Cresswell to come into the back three.
Option 3 – 4-2-3-1
Another option is to stick to Moyes’ trusted West Ham shape and hope that Kostic can work as a traditional left-back in a back four. The issue with that however is that Kostic is naturally someone who plays with an attacking intent, and his ability to get forward and strut his stuff will undoubtedly be shackled if his stuck in defence.
Aguerd’s arrival will add competition, as will Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop but for now, Zouma and Dawson is likely to be the partnership that starts at centre-back, especially with Aguerd picking up an injury during the pre-season draw with Reading on his debut earlier this month.
This shape would see Bowen, Lanzini and Fornals play as the attacking trio behind Scamacca, again, on the proviso that both reported summer signings do seal a switch to the London Stadium.
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