West Ham United have splashed the cash on some big money flops throughout the previous decade that’s for sure.
Players such as Sebastian Haller, Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Nikola Vlasic were all brought to the club with hopes of taking West Ham to next level, especially considering the vast financial outlay spent on them.
None arguably worked out yet it was a signing made by former manager Manuel Pellegrini in the summer of 2018 that arguably cost the club the biggest amount in terms of fee and wages; Brazilian Felipe Anderson.
How much did Felipe Anderson cost West Ham United?
There was much hype surrounding the Premier League outfit when they spent a then club record fee of £36m in 2018 to prise the player away from Lazio, where he enjoyed success.
Initially, it looked as though Pellegrini was onto a winner.
This was a winger who at 25 years old, was just coming into his prime years and during five seasons in Serie A, had netted 34 goals and registered 39 assists, winning the Italian Super Cup in 2017 too, and it was obvious his talents deserved a move to England.
His first season in London was incredibly impressive as the playmaker bagged ten goals and grabbed five assists, with that aforementioned sum of £36m appearing to be a real bargain.
Sadly, those numbers were as good as it got for the player.
Only one goal followed the next campaign and his average rating on Sofascore plummeted drastically from 7/10 in the 2018/19 campaign to 6.8 the following season.
His overall numbers and influence began to wane with his 1.6 shots per game from 2018/19 falling to 0.9, reducing his effectiveness in front of goal.
He ended up joining Porto on a season-long loan for the 2020/21 term before eventually sealing a return to Lazio for a fee of just £4m, representing a staggering loss for West Ham.
Ben Foster even claimed that Anderson could “not cut it” in England and judging by his performances during his second season, it appeared that the pressure eventually caught up with him.
All in all, this move was a disaster and during the 92 full weeks at the club, excluding his loan, the Brazilian rinsed the club of a whopping £45m, combining his transfer fee plus the £9m he earned in wages.
The transfer certainly represents a waste of money by the club and despite a solid first season, it went downhill rather sharply.
Sadly, it will be no consolation to David Moyes that Anderson is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence back in Italy, scoring six goals in Serie A this season, further rubbing salt into the wounds.