By Noel Whelan

21st Jan, 2023 | 1:38pm

Expert issues 'massive' Gianluca Scamacca claim after West Ham development - 'fans won't appreciate this'

Noel Whelan has claimed West Ham duo Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio may struggle for game time following the arrival of Danny Ings.

The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the 30-year-old is a “massive signing” despite a lukewarm reaction from supporters.

West Ham announced his arrival of Ings on Friday (20 January) – with Sky Sports updating later that day to claim the Irons have paid £15million for his services.

Scamacca has netted just three Premier League strikes in 16 outings since joining for a reported £35.5million during the summer window.

Ings is a known quantity at this level, having notched 68 goals in 188 top-flight appearances – including a tally of 22 in the 2019-20 season for Southampton.

West Ham sit 18th in the Premier League and are one point from safety.

Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I think Ings is a massive signing.

“I don’t think the fans will appreciate just how big of a signing this is. He was Villa’s top scorer, he’s a great finisher, he scores in different ways – I think he’s the first choice.

“From now until the end of the season, I think he will be very hard to remove from that starting eleven.

“West Ham need to get the best out of Jarrod Bowen, and I think Ings can do that as well.

“He can bring others into play, he’s strong, he can pass.

“Maybe Scamacca can come in if Moyes wants to play a two-man strikeforce, but Ings has to be the main man now.”

In other news, pundit fears West Ham will “fall apart” after transfer latest – “it’s bad”.