Robbie Walls
Arsenal have been linked with a surprising move for West Ham United midfielder Felipe Anderson, the player seemingly out of favour at the London Stadium.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a terrific debut campaign in the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, notching nine league goals in 36 appearances after making a £36m move from Serie A side Lazio in the summer of 2018.
However, that early promise appeared to go out the window last term, as the Brazilian netted just once in what was a truly underwhelming campaign for both the player and the club – the Hammers narrowly avoiding relegation.
With new manager David Moyes now at the helm, it appears that Anderson’s stock has sunk even further, with the player now surplus to requirements in East London.
According to the Mirror, the attacking midfielder has been offered to London rivals Arsenal in a £5m loan deal, the report suggesting that the player is keen to depart his current club.
The former Santos man is not the only exciting talent to potentially be departing the club, with 22-year-old Grady Diangana set to sign a permanent deal with newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion – although both Aston Villa and Fulham still retain hopes of making a late swoop for the youngster.
As for the Gunners, securing the acquisition of Anderson would be their third summer signing so far this window having brought in fellow Brazilian’s Willian and Gabriel Magalhaes.
The report does suggest however that the player’s £140,000-a-week wages could become an issue for Mikel Arteta’s side, the club already having had to make staff redundancies due to the financial implications of the ongoing pandemic.
Whether or not Arsenal actually retain any interest in making a move for the player is unclear, although the lack of an extravagant transfer fee would no doubt be appealing to the cash-strapped club.
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