As impressive as the Hammers summer signing has been, his latest comments suggest he’s far from the finished product.
West Ham United winger Felipe Anderson has enjoyed a superb maiden season in the Premier League after joining the East Londoners for a club record £42million last summer (Sky Sports).
The Brazilian had a bit of a slow start to life in the English game but, six months on, he’s on eight goals and three assists in 26 league appearances and has helped the club to 10th in the table (Transfermarkt).
Anderson’s overall game has been superb and statistics show this – at West Ham he ranks joint-second for attempts on goal, top with 48 chances created, top with 1,159 passes and second with 98 crosses (Sky Sports) while his 7.28 rating on Whoscored puts him 14th among the Premier League’s best players this term.
However, the 25-year-old has shown considerable humility in admitting that he has found certain aspects of the English top-flight game difficult and said there was still a fair bit for him to improve on – which is a scary thought for every defence set to come up against him while he wears the claret and blue.
When asked by BBC Sport on whether he is well suited to the Premier League, Anderson replied: “I have always enjoyed dribbling. That has been a key part of my game and you do get quite a lot of space in England.
“But the game is very intense and it is difficult to keep it up for the 90 minutes. Every game is end to end, with attack after attack. I am still adapting to that side of the game and I need to get stronger.”
These comments ought to strike fear into the heart of opposition defenders, because as impressive as he already is, he has given an insight into his attitude, humility and work ethic while also suggesting he is far from the finished product.
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