Ex-West Ham star regrets his money-fuelled spell at Upton Park labelled a ‘mistake’

MAURO ZARATE has revealed that his time at West Ham was a “mistake”, as the forward admitted his Upton Park move was largely financially motivated.

 

Mauro Zarate scored five goals in 22 Premier League games for West Ham in his 1 1/2 year spell there

 

The Argentine forward left West Ham for Fiorentina during the January transfer window in search of more first-team football.

According to Football Italia, Zarate is delighted to now be plying his trade in Italy away from the difficulties he faced in England.

Last night, the playmaker marked his third Serie A appearance for Fiorentina with a first goal, a 93rd-minute screamer to earn a 2-1 victory at home to Carpi.

Zarate demonstrated similar glimpses of his technical talent for the Hammers. netting three important goals against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Brom in the Premier league earlier this season.

However, an unsettled first term under Sam Allardyce saw him loaned out to Queens Park Rangers before injuries in the new campaign offered him an extended spell in Slaven Bilic’s first XI.

 

With players returning and his chances of maintaining a spot diminishing, Zarate forced through an exit to Italy for a small fee believed to be £1.6million.

“I wanted to come back to Italy, it was definitely worth it and the club knows I turned down other offers,” Zarate said after netting against Carpi. 

“I decided to help a team that was challenging for important targets. 

“West Ham was a mistake and I didn’t think it through. The Premier League is fun and obviously the wages are very different, so that swayed my decision at the time.”

 

While West Ham continue their fight for a European place, Zarate is now competing at the top level in Italy with Fiorentina sitting third in the Serie A table.

The 28-year-old has started one of his first three league games in Italy, where he featured before with Lazio and Inter Milan, and his next task is to secure a position in his new side.

Meanwhile, West Ham compensated for the loss of Zarate by signing Emmanuel Emenike on loan until the end of the season with an option to buy from Fenerbahce. 

Eminence is available to make his Hammers debut in their league trip to Southampton on Saturday evening.