West Ham United thought they had signed a player to lead them to glory when they brought in Felipe Anderson two years ago. The Brazilian cost the Hammers £41.5 million, (BBC) and he looked like he was worth every penny in his first season.
Anderson scored 10 goals and provided five assists for West Ham in his debut season to help them finish 10th in the league. Fans expected him to perform even better in his second campaign to push the club closer to a place in the top-seven.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Both West Ham and Anderson had a shocking campaign in the Premier League last term. The former Lazio man scored just once in all competitions and he has now been shipped out on loan to Porto.
That is an interesting decision by the Hammers. Anderson will have just a year left on his contract when he returns from loan next summer, putting West Ham in a difficult position in potential transfer negotiations.
Anderson, however, seems like he is keen to return a better player to West Ham next summer.
He told TalkSport (7 October, 11:10 am): “I’m sad for not helping the team as I would like, but I am happy to have a great opportunity at Porto. I’m very motivated and playing for Porto is a great opportunity for me.
“It was the right decision for both sides for now. I have a contract still with West Ham. So, next season I’ll be here so I need to do my best to be back stronger. I still have two years on my contract with West Ham.”
If Anderson can find his feet in Portugal, he will get his confidence back. The Brazilian, on his day, can win games on his own for West Ham but, after how he fared last season, it made sense for him to try something different.
A season in the Champions League will certainly help Anderson become better. However, if he has another poor season, West Ham will have to settle for a lot less than what they paid for him if they try to sell him next summer.
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