West Ham’s bid to sign Felipe Anderson has hit a late stumbling block after Lazio upped the asking price by £4.4million, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
The Sky Sports Italy journalist claimed on his personal website late on Thursday night that the Serie A club now want £30.6million for the wide forward after being on the verge of shaking hands on a £26.2million deal with the Premier League outfit.
Di Marzio explained that Lazio also want a further £4.4million of add-ons for Anderson and want to review the terms of sell-on clause due to be incorporated into the deal.
OPINION
Di Marzio is the most renowned football journalist in the business and every West Ham fan must take his updates as the gospel truth. This makes it even more worrying that Lazio officials appear to have moved the goalposts just as the Hammers were on the verge of making Anderson their second summer signing following the capture of Ryan Fredericks last week. Di Marzio reports that the two clubs remain in talks and the transfer is still very much on, with all parties keen to reach an agreement, but it will be a concern to West Ham that the Italian outfit are asking for a fee that is £6million more than their club record signing of Marko Arnautovic. The Londoners are unlikely to lie back and grant Lazio their wish, but negotiations are set to be intense in the coming hours and days as new recruitment chief Mario Husillos – with co-owner David Sullivan no doubt pulling the strings – aims to push what would be a marquee signing over the line.
