Former player and now pundit Garth Crooks believes West Ham have finally found a replacement to Dimitri Payet in summer recruit Felipe Anderson.
Payet was a revelation in east London but parted company in acrimonious fashion two seasons ago, while Anderson is now starting to produce the kind of performances reminiscent of their former talisman.
Is Anderson comparable to Payet? Five things to know…
- Payet joined West Ham from Marseille in 2015 and immediately became a fan favourite.
- The Frenchman was mesmerising, scoring a number of sensational goals, and ultimately clinching ‘Hammer of the Year’ in 2016.
- However, having become disillusioned with life at the club’s new stadium, Payet refused to play and returned to Marseille in January 2017.
- Anderson joined from Lazio for a club-record fee in the summer and has started to turn heads.
- So far, the Brazilian has created more chances (28) and completed more dribbles (25) than any other West Ham player this season.
It took a few matches for Anderson to settle and acclimatise to the physicality of the Premier League, but he is now flourishing under Manuel Pellegrini and received a nomination for the November Player of the Month award as a result.
Anderson netted West Ham’s third goal against Crystal Palace in a 3-2 win at the weekend, and Crooks, writing in his BBC Sport ‘team of the week’ column, was in awe of the Brazilian: “Felipe Anderson is playing out of his skin at the moment.
“Apart from his undoubted technical ability, the Brazilian has developed a taste for goals. Five in six games tells its own story, but what West Ham fans will enjoy most is the player’s brand of football.
“This lad can play. Anderson does not possess the volatile explosions of Paolo Di Canio or the temperament of Dimitri Payet, but he’s in that class, which rather suggests this could be the beginning of a rather beautiful friendship with the Hammers.”
Anderson was a polarising figure in the Italian capital, with the Brazilian forming a reputation among Lazio fans for lacking in consistency, often producing a moment of magic one week, but failing to follow up the next.
However, the incisive winger has been the fulcrum of West Ham’s resurgence this season after the club began the campaign without a single point from four matches. The Hammers have won three on the bounce with Anderson netting in two of those fixtures.
How important is Anderson to West Ham?
There can be no denying the importance of Anderson to the Hammers this season, and that is reflective in the number of minutes he has played, with only Lukasz Fabianski (1440) and Fabian Balbuena (1350) playing more than the Brazilian (1326).
He began the season in tentative fashion, and there were fears in east London that Anderson would not have the requisite physicality or aggression to survive in the Premier League.
However, the former Lazio player has come of age in recent weeks and is currently the club’s top goalscorer in the league with six to his name.
The winger has also created more chances from open play (19) than any other West Ham player, provided more through balls (5), created more chances from all situations (25) and also has the best take on success (26).
But it is not just his creativity that has endeared him to the Hammers faithful, Anderson has also attempted the most tackles of any player (77).
Next up for West Ham is an away trip to Fulham on Saturday.
The post West Ham have found their new Dimitri Payet, according to Garth Crooks appeared first on Squawka News.
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