The Pellegrini effect? West Ham's 'Sane-esque' star could become the league's counter-attacking king

Tony Cascarino has compared West Ham starlet Felipe Anderson to Manchester City’s Leroy Sane.

The Brazilian is making a name for himself in east London with his great performances in midfield. He’s West Ham’s top scorer and the club’s most prolific chance creator.

High praise? Five key things to know about Sane and Anderson

  1. Felipe Anderson joined West Ham from Lazio in the summer for a club-record £33.5m.
  2. He is currently in good form, scoring seven goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances.
  3. Leroy Sane, himself, signed for Man City for £37m but is as much a creator as he is a goalscorer.
  4. While Anderson only has two league assists this season, Sane has the third-most in the division (7).
  5. Sane has, in fact, five more Premier League assists than any other player since the start of the previous campaign, with 22 in total.

Anderson has impressed pundit Cascarino, a former striker for Marseille, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

He compared the 25-year-old to Sane in his column for the Times: “Felipe Anderson reminds me of Manchester City’s Leroy Sané, physically quite light but agile and athletic and direct, both looking to shoot as soon as they see the white of the goalposts.

“There are always expectations for new players to settle in quickly, particularly when they’ve been signed for hefty fees, but Anderson suits West Ham’s style of play because it gives him some freedom.”

This season so far, no Premier League player has scored more goals from what Opta define as ‘fast breaks’ than Anderson. It is a capability that suits his current manager. Even while in charge of Man City, Pellegrini was associated with counter-attacking.

On this subject, Cascarino added: “When they break, they break quickly and [Anderson] is off and gone. You can tell that he is used to playing counterattacking football because his movement is instinctive and natural. He took his goals [against Southamoton] really well.”

Anderson’s first season at West Ham so far…

Anderson has been an instrumental member of West Ham’s squad this season, but some were skeptical of his ability to adapt following his wobbly start to life in the Premier League.

At the turn of the new year, the 25-year-old Brazilian leads his teammates with the number of goals scored (eight) and has chipped in with the joint-second highest number of assists for his teammates (two).

The midfielder has also created more chances (29) from open play and has completed more successful take-ons (33) than any of his West Ham teammates.

As well as his success in attack Anderson is also effective in defence, attempting more tackles (48) than any other Hammers player, too.

The post West Ham counter-attack king Felipe Anderson compared to Leroy Sane appeared first on Squawka News.



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