"?West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has confirmed that Italian forward Simone Zaza, who joined on loan from Juventus in the summer, has now left the club.
It is thought the Hammers had paid €5m up front as a loan fee, with a further €20m agreed for an obligatory permanent deal if Zaza played a certain number of games for the club.
Despite the former Sassuolo star failing to impress - he couldn't score in 11 appearances and hadn't started in the Premier League since October - Bilic insisted that it was the intention to have Zaza join permanently, only for the contractual situation to prevent it.
SB: "We wanted @SimoneZaza to join the club but his story with West Ham has finished because of the situation with his contract.
"We wanted Simone Zaza to join the club but his story with West Ham has finished because of the situation with his contract," the Hammers boss explained during Monday's press conference.
In light of injuries and general fitness problems with the likes of Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll, West Ham have been desperate for strikers in recent weeks to the point of asking Michail Antonio to fill in as a makeshift 'number 9'.
Jonathan Calleri is another loan forward that has failed to make an impact, playing even less than Zaza and scoring just as few, but Bilic has stated there is still a West Ham future for the Argentine borrowed from Deportivo Maldonado.
"Jonathan Calleri does not have any clause in his contract and he still has a future with the club," the manager explained.
SB: "@Jocalleri does not have any clause in his contract and he still has a future with the club.
As far as any new incoming players this month are concerned, Bilic hinted at possible arrivals but understandably offered nothing specific.
"There have been a lot of reports in the media about new signings but I am not going to talk about individual names," he commented.
"We have a couple of positions I have discussed with the chairman but I believe in the squad and they have enough strength and character."
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