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Reported £70,000-a-week player delivers verdict after West Ham transfer finale
By Amir Mir
Simone Zaza has stated that he was not “right mentally” during his disastrous spell at West Ham.
The 25-year-old has joined La Liga giants Valencia on loan after he failed to score in 11 games in all competitions for the east London club in the opening half of the campaign.
Italian Zaza had initially joined the Premier League outfit on a £4.3million season-long loan from Juventus.
But, the striker failed to adapt as both he and the club suffered for form and consistency on the pitch, and the deal was cut short.
Slaven Bilic’s have since recovered and moved away from the relegation zone but they have suffered heavy defeats at home this season, most notably against Watford, Arsenal and Manchester City.
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After he made his move to Spain, Zaza expressed his honest views about his time in England and explained why it didn’t work out.
“It was a very difficult time for me,” said Zaza, as quoted by Sky Sports. “When I joined from Juventus I was very optimistic, I wanted to experience playing in England because I thought it was the football that I liked and where I could use my qualities.
“Everything started badly from the outset, I think the main blame lies with me because I was not right mentally, I was very negative and in all the things that happened I never saw the positive side.
“There was an atmosphere, a culture very different to mine. That was a problem. Now I’m here (in Spain) I feel bad not to have shown in England what I’m capable of.”
According to Claret & Hugh, Zaza earned £70,000-a-week during his team in east London, more than fellow summer signing Gokhan Tore.
In Italy’s Serie A, Zaza has scored 25 goals in 87 games as he has also provided six assists during those matches.
On the international stage. he has represented his home country 16 times, scoring once against Norway in a European qualifier.
Zaza’s aim will now be to help a struggling Valencia side maintain their status in Spain’s top flight.
Managed by former centre-back Voro, they are 17th in the La Liga table on 16 points from 17 games, having picked up only four wins this season.
In other West Ham news, Dean Ashton expresses his anger at Dimitri Payet.