West Ham have become accustomed to disappointing big-money signings in recent years, with their spending sometimes not really working out.
One such signing is Felipe Anderson, who arrived with a big reputation from Lazio in July 2018 in a €38m deal, but never lived up to the expectation.
There were signs of quality from the Brazilian, but he never fulfilled what West Ham thought he would be, instead moving to Porto on loan last season before being shipped back to Lazio for €3m in July.
That move was something of a reset for the forward, who returned to the club where he initially made his name and arguably feels very comfortable.
And it’s a move that’s working out well for all parties. Two goals and two assists in seven games in all competitions so far is a good return, and the 28-year-old is earning plenty of praise.
His latest star turn came in the derby win over Roma, in which he bagged a goal and an assist in the 3-2 victory and a tonne of praise once more.
La Lazio Siamo Noi cover the player’s situation today and say that 1825 days after his debut for the club, ‘it’s still the Felipe Anderson show’.
They say that the experiences at Porto and West Ham have ‘matured’ the forward and helped him to become the ‘protagonist’ once more in Italy.
Most of it is down to Maurizio Sarri, who believes in the Brazilian and gave his approval to bring him back in the summer.
So far, he’s lived up to expectations and was the star against Roma, earning himself adjectives such as ‘amazing, superlative, delightful and a dream’.
Sarri has been able to make Anderson ‘shine as he deserves’ except this time he is not ‘a comet’ but a ‘polar star’.
In other words, Lazio have the player they always thought they’d get, Andersen has found the perfect club, and West Ham is now just a distant experience he is quickly forgetting.
