Felipe Anderson names three former West Ham stars that inspired his move

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The Brazilian joined West Ham United from Lazio this summer and cites Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, and Paulo Di Canio as his inspiration.

Felipe Anderson has been put in a somewhat difficult position when it comes to adapting to life in a new team, let alone a new country, as so many other new first-team players are doing the very same thing alongside him.

And that difficulty was proven with West Ham’s first two games, a 4-0 defeat away at Liverpool and a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.

We are yet to see the best of the Hammers’ new record signing, but if his list of inspirations are anything to go by, then the London Stadium faithful should be hopeful about what Anderson can bring to the club.

Speaking to ESPN, the Brazilian named three former West Ham players who inspired his move to the club.

“I wanted to come here to be among the best,” Anderson told ESPN.

“[I knew West Ham because] I was following [Carlos] Tevez, [Javier] Mascherano – I also followed [Paulo] Di Canio who played here a long time ago.

“I always followed the English championship a lot so when they told me about the possibility of coming here I did not think twice. I followed players like [Thierry] Henry, who made history here.

“When I was young, I would watch them and then Tevez, who did what he did and became an idol. I dream of reaching that kind of level.”

Two of the three certainly made their mark on West Ham’s history, even if things didn’t work out for Mascherano. The Argentine joined alongside Tevez in 2006 in what was a shock move – these were two of the most talented players in South America and were tipped to move to clubs in far better positions than West Ham.

The impact of Di Canio is clear – especially with the Lazio link between him and Anderson – but it shows just how big a signing the double-deal of Tevez and Mascherano was. They signed from Corinthians in Brazil and, twelve years later, there is still proof of how that put West Ham on the map with Anderson’s comments.

It just goes to show that West Ham do have a bigger reach worldwide than perhaps they’re given credit for and if Anderson can fulfil his potential at the London Stadium, that’s only going to extend further.