Slaven Bilic has dismissed rumours suggesting Simone Zaza’s loan spell at West Ham United will be cut short with the manager giving his full backing to the under-fire forward.
Zaza joined West Ham on a season-long loan deal on August 28 from Juventus but the Italy international has yet to find his footing in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old has made four league appearances whilst featuring in the EFL Cup once but he has yet to open his account, much to the frustration of the fans.
Bilic made the decision to drop the Policoro-born star from the starting line-up against Middlesbrough last time out and that sparked rumours of a premature end to the loan agreement.
The Hammers have already shelled out £5million to sign the Italian temporarily and it is believed the English club will have to complete a permanent deal for a further £20m if Zaza reaches 14 appearances.
However, the Croatian tactician dismissed the recent reports and insists the Juventus loanee will be an integral part of the squad for the rest of the season.
“This one is false,” he said. “He’s our player, we got him, he’s here. He’s training good and we expect him to do the job.”
Zaza will be hoping to play some part in Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace as the visitors look to record their first league win in six attempts and jump out of the bottom three.
The Eagles, unbeaten in their last five, are the firm 2.10 favourites to clinch all three points, a draw is priced at 3.40 whilst the Hammers are 3.60 outsiders.
West Ham did win the fixture at Selhurst Park last season, picking up a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Manuel Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Carl Jenkinson.
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