OPINION
West Ham United are reportedly in advanced talks to sign Lazio winger Felipe Anderson in what would be a stunning coup for the club as the Manuel Pellegrini revolution gets underway.
Gazzetta dello Sport correspondent Nicolo Schira posted on Twitter that the two parties are negotiation a £33million deal for the 25-year-old, who would become the club’s record signing.
Now, while this would indeed be a brilliant signing for the club, this report must be taken firstly with a pinch of salt, and focus must turn to one small detail which will no doubt turn out to be significant.
Schira also claimed in his post that renowned super agent Kia Joorabchian is working on this deal for Anderson, and that is a key piece of information that could spell trouble for West Ham.
This is the same agent whose third-party ownership of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez caused the club so much strife back in the day, and a club enemy who must be avoided at all costs.
While third-party ownership has been banned by FIFA since then, the Hammers must still be well aware of Joorabchian and his meddling, and they must be extremely careful with any dealings they have with him in regards to Anderson.
The super agent will no doubt attempt to squeeze every penny he can out of the Hammers during the deal, and things may slowly get out of hand for the club.
It is a bigger factor in this deal than is widely realised, and it introduces massive uncertainty into the situation.
In truth, this is a transfer that might end up not being worth it at all for the Hammers, who may be far better off taking their money and interest elsewhere.
Anderson is a brilliant player, let’s not get that wrong, but the quoted price of £33million will inevitably end up spiralling, and the deal may quickly become unaffordable and risky.
Pellegrini is far better off looking elsewhere, and spending the club’s money more wisely, in places not meddled with by such figures.
