Moyes could boldly ditch Scamacca in West Ham swoop for “magnficent” £25m speed-demon

West Ham United is reportedly interested in signing RB Salzburg striker Noah Okafor this summer and his potential arrival at the London Stadium could allow David Moyes to ditch Gianluca Scamacca.

Could West Ham sign Noah Okafor?

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham are all considering moves for the £25m-rated forward, who joins a long list of attacking talents to have established themselves with the Austrian side.

Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland are perhaps the prime examples of world-class players who have come through the ranks at Salzburg, and West Ham would be hoping for similar results with Okafor should he link up with the Hammers in the summer.

While the focus right now should be on retaining their Premier League status, it seems likely that Moyes, or whoever is in charge, will have a hefty transfer budget next season if and when Declan Rice potentially departs for Champions League football, and West Ham has to ensure they spend that money wisely.

Okafor has certainly caught the eye of Salzburg in recent seasons, as he boasts an impressive return of 34 goals and 23 assists in just 108 appearances for Die Bullen, which only looks set to get better as he continues to progress with the Austrian side.

His return of three Champions League goals in six games in each of the last two seasons certainly suggests that he could follow in the footsteps of Haaland in the future, although perhaps not with the same ferocity as the Manchester City goal-machine.

Back in 2021, Okafor earned a lot of praise from Swiss U21 manager Mauro Lustrinelli.

He said: “Noah is currently in the best period of his career. In the past, he had many small injuries which sometimes prevented him from performing.

“He is now in very good physical condition. We already knew that he had magnificent technical qualities, speed, and power. In recent months, he has also grown mentally.

“Since he has been in Austria, Noah has also improved in the defensive phase, in pressing and counter-pressing. If he continues to work like this, he will have an extraordinary career. He already has everything and he seems to be going in the right direction.”

You could argue that none of the strikers currently available to Moyes at West Ham possesses the pace and power of Okafor, as Michail Antonio looks past his best, Danny Ings is a penalty-box poacher and Scamacca has offered next to nothing in his spell with the east London club, finding the net just three times in the league.

The Italian arrived at the London Stadium with a big reputation after impressing with Sassuolo but his lack of goals and game time – featuring in only 16 Premier League games – has seen him lose his regular starting spot in Moyes’ side in recent weeks.

Therefore, if Okafor were to arrive in the summer, then Scamacca could be the first striker to go, as he represents the most expendable asset of the three senior options in Moyes’ squad.