West Ham's Zaza open to AC Milan, Fiorentina, Genoa moves, says father
West Ham United loan flop Simone Zaza never fancied a transfer abroad, and is open to return to Italy with touted destinations such as Fiorentina, Genoa, and AC Milan, says the striker's father.
The Juventus frontman has endured a torrid time in England - not troubling the scoresheet in 11 competitive outings - but had an escape route to Valencia cordoned off when Cesare Prandelli stepped down as the club's manager last Friday.
Now Zaza's father, Antonio, is talking up moves back to Serie A.
"Now it seems most likely that he will move to another club without returning to Turin. Fiorentina would be a welcome destination - we're talking about a great team coached by a great coach (Paulo Sousa). There's not been any contact yet, but I don't know if they've already spoken with Juventus," Antonio told CalcioMercato, with translation from ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell.
"I don't want to state any preferences because that would not be nice, but (Genoa) are another club with a great tradition, so why not? Simone just needs to be playing again and we're not looking at the economic side of things. Right now, such talk is only secondary."
Through his struggles in London, Simone is gradually falling out of favour for Giampiero Ventura's Italy while the likes of Torino's Andrea Belotti and a temporarily reinvigorated Ciro Immobile have staked serious claims for a starting berth on the international stage.
Another team linked to Simone's signature is AC Milan, which was apparently on the hunt for him last summer.
"If they were to call again, I would be happy to answer. Milan are Milan - a great club," Antonio continued.
"Simone has a great desire to return to Italy and we just need to choose the right destination together with Juventus. I can exclude him returning to them, though, because that would be counterproductive both for Juve and above all for us, considering he would hardly play.
"Listen, we just want to get Simone back in Italy considering how much he loves his country. It wasn't us who picked this blessed West Ham."