New West Ham United striker Simone Zaza's father has revealed his son had agreed to join Serie A giants Napoli before his move to east London,London Evening Standardreports.
The proposed deal was, however, blocked by Juventus according to his father and agent, Antonio, who revealed the Serie A giants were wary of selling the striker to a direct Serie A rival.
The Italy international, 25, joined West Ham instead on an initial season-long loan deal, with the Hammers having the option to make the move permanent for £25m at the end of the season.
While his father has expressed his delight at joining a "great project", he shed light on a lucrative offer Napoli had on the table for his son, which would have been £2.9m a year plus bonuses.
There was strong contact with Napoli then we didn't hear from them and no one explained why,� said Zaza Snr told Italian media.
🔥🔥🔥 this morning from @SimoneZaza � https://t.co/sOdsGuSVu5
Thank God we were spoiled for choice, and there was the important offer from West Ham, a great project. We reached an agreement on everything (with Napoli) and we should have heard from them in a day, two days max but we never heard from them. They disappeared.
I have no problem in saying that the offer was also very good ” €3.5m (£2.9m) plus bonuses.�
The 25-year-old could be in line to make his West Ham debut this weekend at home against Watford.
His manager, Slaven Bilic, believes the Italy international is "hungry" and "positive" and is excited at what he can give to the team.
He said:He's still young, hungry, great left foot, goalscorer, bit of that drive and positive wildness on the pitch that is very important for the team, the crowd.�