West Ham Loanee Struggling Away From Club

Felipe Anderson left West Ham in the summer and joined FC Porto on loan, but the move is not working out as planned so far.

West Ham signed Felipe Anderson from S.S. Lazio for £36 million in 2018, a club record fee at the time. The Brazilian excelled in his first season at the London Stadium, scoring ten goals and providing five assists in all competitions.

Anderson had become the Hammers main man. The 27-year-olds pace and skills on the left-wing linked-up well with Marko Arnautovic as they formed a decent partnership. In the Brazilian’s second season, however, he struggled to have the same impact.

In what was a difficult 2019/20 campaign for the entirety of West Ham, Anderson’s productivity also dropped massively. After only providing four assists and scoring once in the whole season. The winger did suffer from injuries and fitting into David Moyes’ plans, and this could have been a factor behind his poor second half of the season.

This season Anderson only made a significant impact in the League Cup. In games against Hul City and Charlton Athletic, the Brazilian scored one and assisted two goals. This form was not enough to see him given meaningful time in the Premier League.

The decision was made that Anderson would leave the club on loan to regain his form, FC Porto was the destination. On paper, the move looked perfect; the Portuguese League is less built around strength and more about pace, something Anderson has plenty of.

But the move so far has not gone to plan. The former record signing has only made one appearance from the bench for the Portuguese giants. Despite being named on the bench, manager Sergio Conceicao has chosen other players to make an impact over Anderson.

The manager has also criticised the players work ethic and has suggested that he needs to work harder to improve.

"“Felipe knows that in order to return to having brilliant moments as he had [so far in his career], it is necessary to work hard. Anything he does now [at Porto] can have great positive results in the future. And everything that has already happened [in his career] no longer matters, it stays in the bank. The important thing is what he will do at FC Porto.”Sergio Conceicao speaking to DESPORTO AO MINUTO"

Anderson is one of those players that can be a match-winner, but at the moment it seems he is his own biggest enemy. There is still a long time left of his loan move in Portugal in order for him to turn things around though.

The Brazilian’s loan move is only the length of the season, and he will be due back at West Ham at the end. The Hammers will be hoping he changes his fortune so he can make an impact in the Premier League next season, or at least be sold for a respectable amount.