West Ham Flop Proves Doubters Wrong After Winning La Liga Player of the Month Award

West Ham flop Simone Zaza has won La Liga Player of the Month for September after a blistering start to the season for current club Valencia.

The Italian became a bit of a laughing stock in England during his time with the Hammers. After an embarrassing penalty miss went viral in Euro 2016, it seemed the striker's time in the Premier League was doomed from the off. 

Zaza only managed eight appearances at West Ham in his short time there (his loan move from Juventus was cancelled in January) - failing to score a single goal in that time.

But now, it seems times have changed for the 26-year-old, having been adjudged as La Liga's best player for September - beating Lionel Messi to the award, who has enjoyed one of his best starts to a season of his career.

Zaza has scored seven goals in eight appearances for the Bats, helping his side (for whom he signed permanently in the summer) to a surprising second place in the Spanish top flight - behind only Barcelona.

On a personal level, Zaza sits joint second in the race for La Liga's golden boot - massively unexpected in a league which contains the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez.

With only Lionel Messi (11) hitting the back of the net more times than him, Zaza is level on goals with Villareal's Cedric Bakambu.

Valencia's number nine seems to have found a new lease of life on the east coast of Spain. Surely he can't keep up this good form.