Why Felipe Anderson is a happy Hammer
by BrazilStats
Felipe Anderson has been on fire ever since completing a dream move to the English Premier League following his transfer from Lazio to West Ham United, in the summer. The versatile attacker is experiencing the best season of his professional career, just in time to give Tite a selection headache ahead of Copa América.
Santos is renowned for producing some of the most talented individuals throughout its history, from Pelé and Coutinho in the 60s to Robinho and Neymar in recent times. Felipe Anderson is one of their academy products who is having a blast in his debut campaign in England.
As a matter of fact, the 25-year old has already scored six league goals and mustered an assist. In addition to that, Anderson is one of the best dribblers and creators in the league, with the evidence of averaging 1.6 dribbles per game alongside 1.8 chances created. This makes Felipe one of the most versatile attacking players in the EPL, capable of influencing a game without even needing to score.
But good stats always back you up and give you more recognition, which he seems to be getting, as he has just scored five goals in his last six league matches — putting him up there with the very best performers in the country, in the past few weeks, as well as being nominated for the November player of the month award, alongside six other competitors.
Need to this Neymar and Felipe Anderson together again for the Seleção. 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/V0LEpOW8nx
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) December 8, 2018
Felipe Anderson’s former coaches at Lazio were not getting the best out of him, as he was forced to track back way too often in order to sacrifice for his teammates to shine and get the spotlight. Heck, he was even deployed as a wing-back in a 5–3–2/3–5–2 system for quite a while, meaning that he would be thrown way too wide and far from the danger zone, where he has proven time and time again how clinical he has the quality be.
Battling back into the picture with Brazil
If the West Ham man keeps it up, there’s no reason why Felipe Anderson can’t finish the league campaign with a goal tally of around 15 goals, which would certainly means that there will be many clubs interested in his services, come the end of the season.
Talking of what could be up next for Felipe Anderson, Brazil’s national team is in deep need of a right winger who can finally realize the eternal dream of the fans, and displace Willian once and for all. The candidates are many, but Lucas Moura has never really taken advantage of his chances for the Seleção, whereas Douglas Costa isn’t having his best season at Juventus, and
Last but not least, Malcom, David Neres and Vinicius Junior are considered too young and inexperienced to be able to guide the national team with the pressure that the media will throw on them, on home soil, come June 2019.
Felipe Anderson has the world at his feet, and the moment is his. The Brazilian is on the way to having his best season ever, before securing a Copa América spot and getting linked with top clubs in England who are looking for a player at his position.
Tags: Brazil, Felipe Anderson, West Ham United
Originally published at www.cricketsoccer.com on December 9, 2018.