Santos have been priced out of a move for West Ham United’s Felipe Anderson, president Andres Rueda said in quotes reported by Lance.
Top-flight rivals Gremio might have found a way to bring Douglas Costa back to Brazil earlier this summer, but Santos will not have it easy as they look to secure the services of another Selecao star.
Three years after becoming West Ham’s record signing following his £36 million move from Lazio, Anderson has tumbled down the pecking order at the London Stadium and appears to have no future at the club as long as David Moyes is in the dugout.
On that subject, Moyes recently signed a new three-year contract to ward off interest from former club Everton.
Anderson, then, finds himself on the outside looking in as he prepares to return to the English capital following a difficult spell on loan at Porto.
Will Felipe Anderson ever play for West Ham again?
Santos have come calling, offering the fleet-footed winger a route back to a club he left in 2013 in favour of a European adventure on the other side of the Atlantic.
But unless Anderson is willing to reduce his prohibitive wage demands, a second spell at the Vila Belmiro is a non-starter.
“I got in touch, I knew it was difficult, but I called out of curiosity,” Rueda said when asked about those discussions with Anderson.
“I just asked about the salaries. He said: 1.4 million Brazilian dollars (which translates to around £50,000-a-week).”
Rueda admits that Santos also enquired about Fernandinho before the evergreen midfielder opted to stay for one more season at Manchester City.
Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, meanwhile, is ‘dying’ to play for the Peixe but, like Anderson, appears to lie beyond the club’s financial reach.
Anderson has also been linked with another of his former clubs – Italian giants Lazio – while West Ham may be tempted to rip up the final 12 months of his contract.
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