Towards the end of last summer, Manchester United reportedly made a strong attempt to sign Felipe Anderson, the highly rated Lazio midfielder, but with no success. The Red Devils are set to try their luck again in the January transfer window, and this time, they might get lucky.
For the past one week, British media have been feeding us this information that Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal for Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson.
Reports emerged recently that the Red Devils were in advanced negotiations for a £35m deal for the Brazilian.
In Italy, there were hardly any stories to back-up such claims up until now. Today, the famous pink paper, Gazzetta dello Sport has covered a big report on Anderson, where they claim a bid from Manchester United is imminent.
GAZZETTA: Manchester United bid for Felipe Anderson is “imminent”. Lazio have reduced their asking price for €50M. pic.twitter.com/5FK6PKiUwO
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) January 5, 2016
The 22-year-old midfielder made a huge impact for Lazio in the 2014-15 Serie A season, when he scored 10 goals and added seven assists to his name. This season, he hasn’t quite particularly enjoyed a good campaign.
Lazio are demanding a fee in the region of €50m, which is a huge amount, considering the player hasn’t been in good form. They are looking to bolster their defensive options in January, and may look to cash in on the player.
Anderson is an outstanding talent but he is far from the finished article at the moment. With a naturally gifted blistering pace, he can be a nightmare for the opposition full backs. He generally prefers to play from the left flank, but equally comfortable playing on the right side and as a secondary striker too.
Other highlighting features of his game are his decision making, precise shooting and excellent technical abilities. What he badly lacks is concentration – he fades in and out of matches, and plays well only in patches.
He lacks consistency. In a way his problem is similar to that of Memphis Depay (the highly talented Dutchman who lacks consistency) and the big question now rest – can United afford to take such a big gamble on Anderson in the middle of the season?
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