West Ham have confirmed the club-record arrival of Lazio forward Felipe Anderson for a reported £35m fee.
The Hammers have been locked in talks with Lazio over the last month and finally made a breakthrough in talks on Thursday.
Anderson successfully completed his medical with Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Friday and has now put pen to paper on a four-year deal until 2022.
West Ham have now shattered their club transfer record for a third time in a 12 months following the arrivals of Marko Arnautovic and Issa Diop.
“I feel really happy and fulfilled to join West Ham United,” Anderson told the club’s official website. “West Ham is a club with a lot of tradition, lots of great players have played here, like Bobby Moore, Carlos Tevez, Di Canio.
“They were great players and idols here, and I’m aiming big, who knows, maybe I could hit their heights and be a legend here too. I’m really happy to be here. It’s a dream come true.
“I want to thank the owner, David Sullivan, because he made a big effort to bring me here. I know how difficult it was, so I have to thank him a lot, and I hope I can repay his faith in me on the pitch with goals and winning games.”
Pellegrini’s side have been extremely busy already this summer and Anderson is the seventh new face through the door.
The Premier League side have already bolstered their options at the back through Lukasz Fabianski, Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Ryan Fredericks, while also landing Jack Wilshere on a free to improve in midfield.
West Ham announced the arrival of Borussia Dortmund winger Andriy Yarmolenko earlier this week and have now added Anderson to their options in attack.
After missing the first half of the campaign through injury, Anderson struggled to regain his place in Lazio’s starting XI last season.
The Brazil international made 21 league appearances last term but was limited to just nine starts in that time. Despite lacking continuity, Anderson still managed a direct hand in 17 goals in 28 games across league and European action (seven goals, 10 assists).
Not only that, but Anderson required the fewest minutes per successful dribble (25+ attempted) in Serie A last season (1 every 14.8 minutes of action).
