West Ham United are seeking to complete a major transfer coup by signing Felipe Anderson from Lazio.
The Brazilian attacker is comparable to Manchester United attacker Marcus Rashford, with the Hammers seeking additional attacking options in their side.
Although Felipe Anderson is on course to become a free agent in the summer, when there is expected to be a queue of clubs lining up to sign him, West Ham are trying to anticipate this by paying a fee to sign him from Lazio this month.
Sky Sports report that David Moyes’ side are hopeful that such a move can give them an advantage in the transfer battle to sign the 30-year-old winger.
A deal could be attractive to Lazio, who are ninth in Serie A but by no means out of the running for a Champions League place next season. That could be a hitch in West Ham’s plan, particularly since the weak aspect of the Romans’ game has been their attacking play.
Lazio have scored only 21 Serie A goals this season, with Felipe Anderson, who has an Estimated Transfer Value of €13.1 million, involved in six of these as he has created five and scored another.
West Ham want last season’s Felipe Anderson
West Ham, though, are known to be in need of attacking options.
Only Manchester United have scored fewer goals in the top half of the Premier League table than Moyes’ side, who have been without Michail Antonio through injury for much of the first half of the season.
Manchester City are also exerting pressure to sign Hammers’ playmaker Lucas Paqueta, with an investigation into allegations that the Brazilian has been involved in a betting scandal holding up any potential deal here. Paqueta strongly refutes these claims.
The similarities between Felipe Anderson and Rashford in their playing style last season are evident, with both heavily leaning towards the style of an inside forward, though the Man Utd star showed greater tendency to play as a natural winger.
This season, the Brazilian has been deployed more as a classic winger, which has seen his goal contribution shrink. Last term, he scored nine times in 38 Serie A appearances in the more central role, and it is this type of return that West Ham would love to get from him.
