Lazio forward Felipe Anderson is close to joining West Ham after agreeing the terms of a five-year contract, according to a reliable journalist.
Gazzetta Dello Sport correspondent Nicolò Schira reported on his personal Twitter account late on Tuesday night that the Premier League outfit have upped their bid for the one-time Brazil international to £35.2million topped by a £4.4million performance-related bonus.
Schira explained that Anderson, 25, has reached agreement with the Hammers on a deal that runs until 2023 and is worth £59,000-a-week.
Felipe #Anderson is getting closer to #WestHam that has risen their bid: €40M more 5M bonus to #Lazio. He’ll sign 5-years contract & €3,5M net in wages) #transfers #WHUFC
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) June 26, 2018
OPINION
Can West Ham push this deal over the line after protracted negotiations? That is the multi-million euro question. David Sullivan, Mario Husillos and company are certainly working hard to land a player who reports have stated is the number one summer target of new boss Manuel Pellegrini. The manager knows West Ham are crying out for more dynamism in attack, regardless of how Manuel Lanzini recovers from knee surgery. Marko Arnautovic carried the goals burden almost singlehandedly in the second half of last season, and more penetration is needed from out wide to complement the big Austrian. Anderson has showed during his five years in Serie A that he is a matchwinner who creates and scores goals. Operating predominantly from a wide right role, he netted eight times and supplied a further 10 assists last season for Lazio even though he missed the first half of the season through injury. It is getting close for the Hammers now, as talks reach the crunch stage. It would be agonising for them to miss out now.
