Felipe Anderson has seen his stock in the footballing world decrease dramatically after a tough year. West Ham will have a tough decision to make regarding the Brazilian’s future when the summer transfer market opens West Ham’s former record signing used to light up the London Stadium but now can’t get a game at loan club, FC Porto. Costing the club roughly £36 million when he joined from SS. Lazio, there are now reports that Anderson could be sold for as little as
. The 27-year-old is a very talented player on his day. However, like Sebastien Haller, he struggled to reach his best form for the Hammers on a
. But should West Ham accept another major loss on a fading star or should they show Anderson some faith in the final year of his contract?
West Ham will have to take a risk no matter what they do with Felipe Anderson, either take another massive loss or give him a chance to prove himself?
The arguments to accept the loss and sell the winger are fairly clear. Anderson is on high wages and by selling him, it would at least open up some space in the wage budget for incoming players. The wages Anderson is on could even be used to bring in Jesse Lingard in on a permanent deal. Another reason is David Moyes’ new ethos at the club. The Scottish manager only wants ‘team players’ and if he does not see Anderson fulfilling that role, he won’t have much use. Especially as players like Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals are already fitting into Moyes’ system will limited time on the pitch for Anderson if he stays. Keeping Anderson, however, may not be the worst idea in the world. As said earlier the Brazilian is a very talented player, he showed just how good he was in his
scoring nine goals and assisting four. If Moyes was able to get Anderson back to his best, then he would be like a new signing and could even earn a new contract at the club. The other reason to keep hold of Anderson for another year to help build up the squad numbers again. West ham have a very thin squad at the moment, and if they qualify for a European competition next season, Anderson could help with the team rotation.
The only risk of keeping Anderson for another year would the chance of losing him for nothing at the end of the season. Before going to Portugal, Anderson did say that he wants to come back to West Ham and
in London, if he does that and signs a new contract, it could be a risk worth taking.