West Ham United baulked at the price of a double swoop for Felipe Anderson and Jordan Lukaku from Lazio this summer, according to Corriere Della Sera.
The Italian newspaper claim in their print edition that a move fell through for the duo as the Serie A club demanded too much for their services, which the Hammers could not afford.
It is stated that a £9million price tag was slapped on Lukaku’s head by Lazio chairman Claudio Lotito, but the report claims that not even no club would be willing to pay that price, let alone the Irons.
The Brazilian ended up signing for the East London outfit for a club record fee of £36 million earlier this summer, but Lukaku did not follow suit.
OPINION
Anderson obviously took up large chunk of the £100 million that West Ham spent on players this summer, but fans will not be too worried that they turned down the chance to sign Lukaku as well. Lukaku is not the most proven left-back, and it would have been a risk to bring him to the London Stadium. He has had a career plagued with injuries, and only started ten matches in the 2017/18 campaign due to these injury problems. £9 million seems a bit steep for a player who is at risk of being injured, so it comes as no surprise that the Irons opted against securing his capture. Anderson has not really lived up to intense expectations so far, but he has certainly shown flashes of the ability that attracted West Ham to him in the first place. He will soon justify his price tag, but first he needs to gel with his fellow teammates.
