West Ham United v Watford: Simone Zaza ready to be unleashed by Hammers boss Slaven Bilic… just don’t expect him to be on penalty duty
On-loan Juventus striker became an internet sensation following a somewhat hilarious miss for Italy in Euro 2016
WEST HAM boss Slaven Bilic laughed out loud this week at the idea of his new striker Simone Zaza taking a penalty against Watford today.
But he cannot wait to pit the on-loan Juventus marksman against Premier League defences.
Like millions of viewers, Bilic saw Zaza take a bizarre, shuffling, dancing run-up to a spot-kick in Italy's Euro 2016 shootout with Germany.
And sky the ball into Row Z instead of the roof of the net, to launch a hundred vines and YouTube clips.
So Hammers' regular penalty-taker Mark Noble will not be asked to hand over the ball to Zaza if match referee Martin Atkinson points to the spot today.
Bilic said: "No, no. We have a good penalty-taker already. A great one, in fact.
"But he's ready and I think he will play. He is a player of quality, he has shown me in training and now he has to show it on the pitch in a proper game in a stadium.
"On paper, on DVDs and whatever and when you talk to him he's got all the qualities that we need from a centre-forward and hopefully he's going to click straight away."
Zaza, 25, was expecting to join Napoli from Juventus after helping them to the double last season - until the Hammers stepped in.
He notched 27 goals in Serie A with Sassuolo and Juve and proved he is a man for the big occasion with two in a Coppa Italia derby against city rivals Torino last season.
West Ham need a boost after two defeats in three league games and a premature exit from the Europa League.
So Zaza could go straight into the starting line-up for his first game of the season.
Bilic said: "We're not rushing him. Okay, he didn't do a pre-season with us.
"But it's not like he only came yesterday. He has been training with us for a couple of weeks.
"And he is not afraid. He wants to play."