Full Steam Ahead On Anderson Transfer

In a meeting held last week between David Moyes, David Sullivan, David Gold and the other part of the 'unholy trinity', West Ham United's precarious finances and future transfer policy were discussed at great length and plans were made in order to try and offset the appalling fiscal downturn that has resulted due to the tragic Covid-19 pandemic.

The obvious issue was how to reshape a completely imbalanced squad without even a fraction of the money that was heaped upon Moyes' predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini, who is now doing his best to empty the coffers of Real Betis in Spain! The first 'luxury' player to have their head firmly put on the block was Felipe Anderson, the talented but lightweight Brazilian made the cardinal error of assuming David Moyes had only been brought in as a temporary 'fire fighter' and would then be replaced by a 'top' manager for the coming season.

Much to Anderson's chagrin, Moyes excelled after the beginning of the Barclays Premier League project restart and clearly showed that he 'didn't fancy' Anderson, and we are not referring to how attractive Anderson is in his shorts to the ladies! Felipe Anderson has more often than not flattered to deceive, and his stand out performances are more than offset by his many lack lustre performances in the Claret and Blue.

Put simply Anderson is a luxury Hammers cannot afford, particularly given the club's current financial plight. It seems the rigours of the World's most exciting and frenetic league have proved to be too much for him, with the final straw being when he was 'roughed up' during the game against Sheffield United, to be fair the Blades did get away with one that day, however the result was that Anderson was never the same after returning from the back injury he sustained, he just didn't look like his heart was in it anymore.

Unfortunately Hammers' other south American play maker's form has also fallen off the cliff, Manuel Lanzini has DEFINITELY never been the same since sustaining a severe cruciate injury while training with his beloved Argentina team and great Pal Lionel Messi. David Moyes gave 'The little Jewel' plenty of game time, but Lanzini is a shadow of his former self who has lost all confidence, and more worryingly seems to have forgotten how to play the way he used to.

If the club can sell Anderson and Lanzini it could generate much needed funds to begin the shoring up of what was nearly the leakiest defence in the entire 'top' flight last season. The benefit of selling Lanzini is that there are no outstanding finances due for the player and therefore all funds received can go in to the kitty, whereas Anderson cannot be sold back to Lazio for any real fiscal benefit due to the remaining tranches of payments owed by the Irons to Lazio,regretably they seem to be one of the only clubs interested in doing a deal for him. Even if Anderson and Lanzini are sold for a relatively low fee, their wages saved will be significant.

The 'butt' end of the meeting between the three Dave's and the other person was a decision to move on misfiring strikers Albian Ajeti and Jordan Hugill, Ajeti has gone to Celtic and it looks as if Hugill will be joining Norwich City. Both purchases were loss makers, with the club losing potentially £8 Million excluding wages...another fine mess.

Moyes will be keen to see a line drawn under the 'Hugill' experience, as he was the one who oversaw the transfer, a disaster which he has now mitigated with the brilliant acquisitions of Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek. Now they are the type of players the club needs to progress and finally get rid of the old people's home image of the club! - Ed