It’s never a good look if you take a big loss on someone you once paid a record fee for, but it might make some sense for West Ham when it comes to Felipe Anderson.
He did have a brilliant first season in London after arriving from Lazio in a deal worth up to £42m, which was a club-record fee at the time.
His second season didn’t go as well as his impact on the field started to disappear, and a loan move to Porto last season didn’t work out as he only played in five league games.
There have been some rumors about a return to Serie A with Lazio, and that now looks more likely after a report stating that talks have been held:
#Lazio–#FelipeAnderson ieri nuovo contatto con l'entourage del brasiliano. Piace a Sarri, si tratta un titolo definitivo per circa 9 M € ma nulla è ancora definito @F_Andersoon @OfficialSSLazio @WestHam @SkySport
— Manuele Baiocchini (@ManuBaio) June 26, 2021
It’s believed that the new manager Maurizio Sarri would be keen but The Hammers would take a huge loss if he does depart for €9m. If he’s not in the plans then there’s no point in keeping him around and he’ll be on a big wage, while the current economic climate means that it’s unfair to properly compare fees just now against those that were paid a few years ago.