West Ham’s Felipe Anderson explains the part of his game he must improve

West Ham United winger Felipe Anderson says he is still adapting to life as a Premier League footballer.

The 25-year-old Brazil international joined the Hammers from Lazio last summer for a fee of £35m and has enjoyed a productive start to life in England’s top division.

A graduate of Santos’ esteemed academy – which has produced three-time World Cup winner Pele and the most expensive footballer in history, Neymar – Anderson switched to Lazio following 68 appearances and seven goals for the Brazilian club.

During his five seasons in Rome, the Brasília-born forward saw his game improve significantly: 34 goals and 42 assists in 177 outings.

It consequently saw him being linked with Inter Milan and Chelsea before swapping Rome for east London.

In a short space of time, he’s fast become one of West Ham’s most popular and important players under Manuel Pellegrini, bagging nine goals across 30 appearances in all competitions, though Anderson himself – who is enjoying life in England – feels there’s plenty of work for him to do.

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“I have always enjoyed dribbling,” he told BBC Sport.

“That has been a key part of my game and you do get quite a lot of space in England.

“But the game is very intense and it is difficult to keep it up for the 90 minutes. Every game is end to end, with attack after attack. I am still adapting to that side of the game and I need to get stronger.”

Anderson’s first season

An ever-present this season, Anderson is one of two West Ham players, alongside Lukasz Fabianski, to feature in all of West Ham’s opening 26 league outings.

Anderson has started in every one of those games, completing the full 90 minutes in all but six.

He’s subsequently registered eight goals, making him the club’s leading scorer, and creating three more (level with three other players: Michail Antonio, Robert Snodgrass and Mark Noble).

However, he’s now gone seven Premier League games without scoring, with his last strike coming in West Ham’s win away to Southampton in December.

Next up for the Hammers is a visit from Fulham before a daunting away trip to champions Manchester City.

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