Crossword Genius

One used to spell in Greece: West Ham’s star Italian? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piero

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'one used to spell in greece west ham's star italian?' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'one used to spell in greece west ham's star italian?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'italian?' could be 'i' (abbreviation for Italian) and 'i' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'per' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for piero that I've seen is " Italian character".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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