Arsenal have been offered unsettled West Ham winger Felipe Anderson, whose impact in east London has considerably waned since an impressive debut campaign in 2018/19.
West Ham set a new club transfer record of around £36m to sign Anderson from Lazio in the summer of 2018. He started all but two Premier League games that season and finished with nine goals to his name as the Hammers rose into the top half of the table.
Yet 2019/20 represented an immediate and hard climbdown for the Brazilian. He continued to start games but was often substituted and didn’t find the net until January. That solitary strike against Bournemouth on New Year’s Day proved to be his only goal of the season.
Anderson barely featured under new manager David Moyes. He played just 89 minutes during ‘Project Restart’ and didn’t even make it onto the bench for three consecutive games in July. And with West Ham only narrowly avoiding relegation, a fresh start may help recapture his old form.
It appears that West Ham are willing to let him go, at least temporarily, and the Daily Mirror reports that Arsenal have been offered the 27-year-old on loan for a £5m fee.
As things stand, it is unclear if Arsenal are interested in Anderson or have plans to take up the opportunity. The Gunners have been keen to strengthen on a limited budget this summer and have already secured veteran Brazilian winger Willian on a free transfer.
The north London club have also spent around £22m on Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhães, while Dani Ceballos is soon expected to re-join from Real Madrid for a second loan.Arteta additionally has a number of promising home-grown young players at his disposal, including Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson, as he looks to turn Arsenal’s fortunes around.
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Source : 90min