West Ham have lodged a £33.3million offer for Lazio right-sided forward Felipe Anderson, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Italian newspaper claimed in its print edition on Monday that the Hammers’ bid for the Brazil international has been rejected by the Serie A side.
Gazzetta report that Lazio have slapped a £44million price tag on Anderson and will not sell below that price, with the possibility remaining he will sign a new deal with his current club.
OPINION
It is a measure of Anderson’s calibre that he missed the first half of the 2017-18 season due to injury but returned from a long lay-off to score eight goals and supply 10 assists from his 32 appearances for the campaign. The one-time Brazil international is a matchwinner and a gamechanger, capable of breaking down organised defences with his flying raids or a moment of magic or inspiration. Since signing for the Italian side in 2013 for £6.8million, he has scored 34 goals and made 42 assists rom 177 games. Those are persuasive statistics and there is little wonder there is so much interest in him from Premier League clubs. West Ham will need to obliterate their transfer record to seal the capture of Anderson, as another £10million is needed to push the deal over the line. Or, at least, that is what Lazio are holding out for. It is surely unlikely West Ham will stretch that far for one player, as it would take virtually all of Manuel Pellegrini’s summer transfer budget.
