Felipe Anderson: West Ham sign Lazio midfielder for club record fee

Felipe Anderson spent five years at Lazio after joining from Brazilian side Santos

West Ham have signed midfielder Felipe Anderson - a player they call "one of the most exciting talents in Europe" - for a club record £36m from Lazio.

The fee for the 25-year-old could rise to £41.5m and eclipses the £22m the Hammers paid Toulouse for France Under-21 defender Issa Diop last month.

Anderson, West Ham's seventh summer signing, has agreed a four-year deal.

He scored 34 goals in 177 appearances for Lazio and was in Brazil's Olympic gold medal-winning squad in 2016.

"West Ham is a club with a lot of tradition. Lots of great players have played here, like Bobby Moore, Carlos Tevez and Di Canio," he said.

"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."

Hammers boss Manual Pellegrini, who took charge of the Premier League side in May, has also signed Paraguay defender Fabian Balbuena, England midfielder Jack Wilshere and Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko in the past week.

They joined Diop, Poland goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and English defender Ryan Fredericks as summer arrivals at London Stadium.

Who is Felipe Anderson?

Anderson made his senior debut for Brazilian side Santos when he was 17 and helped them win the Copa Libertadores - South America's equivalent of the Champions League - the following year.

He joined Lazio in 2013 and was part of the the side that reached the Europa League quarter-finals last season, where the Italian side were knocked out 6-5 on aggregate by Red Bull Salzburg.

However, they finished fifth in Serie A, missing out on Champions League qualification to Inter Milan on head-to-head record.

"We believe we have signed one of the most exciting talents in European football," said West Ham director of football Mario Husillos.

"This is a very big statement."

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