adminWest Ham’s Transfer Woes: From Felipe Anderson to Mohammed Kudus, the Hits Are Few and Far Between
When scanning through the list of West Ham United’s most expensive signings, it quickly becomes clear that genuine success stories like Jarrod Bowen are rare. Now second only to Michail Antonio in the club’s all-time Premier League scoring charts, Bowen stands out as one of the few genuine “hits” in a sea of underwhelming investments.
The verdict is still pending on recent additions like Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Luis Guilherme, Niclas Fullkrug, and Crysencio Summerville. Some show promise, but it’s too early to make a definitive call.
Then there are those who managed to leave a more lasting impression—Pablo Fornals will always be fondly remembered by the fanbase, while Lucas Paquetá has had flashes of brilliance. As for Mohammed Kudus, his legacy may be on the verge of collapse as he edges closer to a contentious move to Tottenham Hotspur. If the deal goes through, he’d become the first player to cross that divide since Scott Parker in 2011.
Meanwhile, the likes of Sebastien Haller, Gianluca Scamacca, Edson Alvarez, Andre Ayew, and Nikola Vlasic are best left in the “forgettable” category.
And then there’s Felipe Anderson—a player who, perhaps more than any other, embodied unfulfilled potential. When West Ham signed him from Lazio for £36 million in 2018, the club hailed him as “one of the most exciting talents in Europe.” On paper, it wasn’t far-fetched: Anderson had racked up 16 assists across two Serie A seasons, and as a Brazilian international, he brought an aura of flair and excitement.
But his time in East London never lived up to the hype.
A conversation on talkSPORT between Darren Bent and Andy Goldstein summed it up perfectly—when Bent asked, “Do you remember Felipe Anderson?”, it sparked confusion and likely some frantic Googling behind the scenes. Bent recalled his excitement at the time of Anderson’s signing: “I remember thinking, ‘what a signing,’ and it just didn’t work out for him.”
Despite moments of brilliance—like a cheeky backheel goal against Manchester United and a dazzling double against Southampton—Anderson’s Premier League career faded fast. Perhaps it was a case of English football simply not suiting his style.
After being frozen out by David Moyes, Anderson found his form again at Lazio. Now 32 and back in Brazil with Palmeiras, he’s enjoying something of a renaissance—and has the chance to add a Club World Cup title to the silverware he collected in Italy and at Santos.
Palmeiras will face Chelsea in the tournament’s quarter-finals on Saturday. And while European giants like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG are also in the mix, don’t count out the last South American side standing. In a summer full of surprises, anything can happen.
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