Declan Rice has hailed West Ham teammate Felipe Anderson, claiming that the Brazilian is “top notch”.
Both players featured in the Irons’ convincing 2-0 victory over Norwich City on Saturday, and the England international was eager to sing his colleague’s praises.
Speaking to the Hammers’ official website, he said: “Watching Felipe, I just smiled at one point. He was on the wing and he backheeled it to Seb and I just smiled!
“He’s top notch and we know the qualities he’s got. He could pass to me a bit more on the edge of the box so I could have a couple of shots!
“Every time Felipe plays, he has the fans out of their seats and that’s what we expect from him.”
OPINION
When Anderson is on song, he is by far and away the Hammers’ most dangerous player. As with many of his teammates, it took him a little while to get going this season, partially due to an opening day baptism of fire against Manchester City, and partially due to him missing the second game of the season against Brighton with a dead leg. He did pick up an assist in last weekend’s win over Watford, however, and based on his display against the Canaries, he is nearly back at the peak of his powers. Sebastien Haller has stolen many of the headlines in recent weeks, but the Brazilian is now averaging two key passes, 3.7 successful dribbles, and 2.3 shots on goal per game, as per Whoscored. Combined with a pass completion rate of 80.4%, it is clear that a large portion of the Hammers’ creative spark flows through him, and as Rice suggests, that kind of excellence should be viewed as the norm of a player of his abilities.
