Fantasy Football Potential – Felipe Anderson

West Ham have smashed their club record fee with the signing of highly rated Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson from Italian side Lazio. Anderson joins West Ham for a reported fee of £36 million, continuing their huge spending under Manuel Pellegrini. The previous transfer record was Issa Diop which was earlier in the window.

The 25 year old has played the one game for Brazil, coming on as a substitute in a Copa America warm up match against Mexico. He’s endured success in a Brazil shirt, helping the side win Olympic gold in 2016 in their home country. He’s also had success with Lazio, winning the Supercoppa Italianna in 2017.

Here’s what Anderson told whufc.com:

“I feel really happy and fulfilled to join West Ham United. West Ham is a club with a lot of tradition, lots of great players have played here, like Bobby Moore, Carlos Tevez and Di Canio. They were great players and idols here, and I’m aiming big, who knows, maybe I could hit their heights and be a legend here too. I’m really happy to be here. It’s a dream come true.”

Fantasy Premier League Potential (7.0m)

The winger has been priced at £7.0m, making him a very intriguing option. In Italy last season he scored eight times and set up a further 10, so if he can replicate that in England’s top flight then he’ll be a fantastic player to have in your FPL line ups.

With the Hammers spending a lot of money elsewhere as well, it will help Anderson as he will have better players around him. 3.6% of FPL managers have already selected him and it’s easy to see why but there may be better options out there for around that price. You can get Mkhitaryan for the same price or Jota for just below, so it is a difficult conundrum.

West Ham’s first five fixtures are as follows: Liverpool (A), Bournemouth (H), Arsenal (A), Wolves (H) and Everton (A). The home games in this period will be crucial as it will certainly be a struggle for Pellegrini’s men away from the London Stadium.

Written by Harry Clark (@HarryClark67)