Felipe Anderson
Felipe Anderson, who currently plays as a midfielder for Lazio, has been attracting a lot of interest from newly-appointed West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini.
The London club are yet to find a replacement for the long-gone Dmitri Payet, whose sizzling style of football once dazzled the Hammers’ faithful. The Brazilian is also attracting a lot of interest from other Premier League sides like Southampton and Leicester City.
West Ham often struggled in front of the goal last season. And if not for the prolific Marko Arnautovic, their top-scorer in the league with 11 goals, the club might have even had to battle the prospect of relegation.
The arrival of Mexican poacher Javier Hernandez helped ease the burden to an extent, with the injury-prone Andy Carroll struggling for fitness yet again.
However, the Hammers continue to lack creativity and momentum in the middle of the park, with Manuel Lanzini being their only threat. While the inevitable end to Mark Noble’s West Ham career is looming, Felipe Anderson could be the man to take his spot.
Anderson, 25, scored four goals from the midfield for the Serie A club last season. He has spent five years in Rome since a switch from Santos in 2013.
Over the course of the last campaign, Anderson played a crucial role for Lazio as the Italian outfit fought hard to secure a spot for themselves in the top-four.
The Brazilian also averaged 1.4 shots and 1.9 key passes throughout last season. His pace and direct style of football will certainly provide the Hammers’ midfield with a breath of fresh air, as Anderson averages 3.7 dribbles per game. With such impressive numbers, Felipe Anderson could be a huge bargain for West Ham.
He is clearly talented and also boasts of immense potential but Anderson must unleash the true extent of his skills and Pellegrini could be the perfect manager to help him to do so.
Prior to his stint with the London-based club, the coach played a major role in the development of players like Mario Balotelli, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and many others. He could surely be the perfect mentor to the young Brazilian, who still has his best years ahead of him.
Lazio are reportedly commanding a fee of around £43m for the midfielder, who joined them in 2013. Now, it remains to be seen if David Sullivan is willing to splash the cash on the Brazilian. However, it would be wise if they did so.
