West Ham has continued their busy summer of transfer activity by completing the club-record signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson.
The 25-year-old arrives at the East London club from Lazio for a fee in the region of £35million, which could potentially rise to £42million with add-ons.
Anderson is highly-rated
Anderson had impressed at Lazio since his arrival from Santos in 2013, scoring 33 goals and producing 25 assists in 177 appearances for the club from the Italian capital. His performances reportedly attracted the interest of some high-profile clubs, including Manchester United.
Signing Anderson is something of a coup for the Hammers, even if he has cost a club-record fee. The 25-year-old will be expected to make a significant impact at the London Stadium in the new season.
The seventh signing of the summer
West Ham are certainly not messing around when it comes to signing players this summer. Anderson is the seventh new arrival at London club this summer, as new boss Manuel Pellegrini looks to enjoy a strong debut campaign at the club.
Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere, Ryan Fredericks, Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop are the other new arrivals. The Hammers made have picked up bargains in Wilshere and Fredericks, who both arrived on free transfers.
Fabianski also arrived for a bargain fee of around £6million, which offsets the reported £17million the Irons paid for Yarmolenko and the £22million paid for defender Diop.
The Hammers should undoubtedly start the season with a far stronger squad than they finished last season. The likes of Wilshere, Fabianski and Yarmolenko are all high-profile players, while Diop and Fredericks are younger players with the chance to make a name for themselves.
Hoping not to repeat last season
Last summer West Ham showed some big ambition signing the likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Joe Hart. On paper, they looked like good signings.
It seemed the West Ham hierarchy were backing boss Slaven Bilic in the transfer market. However, the Hammers endured a torrid start to their top-flight campaign and ended up in a relegation fight for much of the season.
The Irons dispensed with the services of Bilic and brought in former Everton boss David Moyes who helped the club secure their top-flight status.
After a serious spending spree, this summer and the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as boss, West Ham’s sights will be set much higher than just staying in the English top-flight. West Ham fans had called for the clubs hierarchy to splash out, and for a second summer, they have brought in a host of new players. Hammers fans will be hoping that this summer’s recruitment drive is far better than a year ago.
Looking from the outside in, West Ham seems to have made some shrewd moves in the transfer market. Fabianski has been a reliable Premier League goalkeeper for a long time, while Yarmolenko on his day is a matchwinner. If they can keep Wilshere fit, then he could turn out to be a great signing.
It will be highly interesting to see how West Ham fares next season after the wrath of signings. A top ten tilt is undoubtedly out of the question but only time will tell if the Hammers new signings, including Anderson, will be successful in the new season.
What should West Ham’s main aims be for next season?
