West Ham set to break club transfer record with £40m swoop for Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson
25-year-old was surprisingly left out of the Brazil squad for their failed World Cup campaign in Russia
WEST HAM are set to make Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson their club-record signing.
The 25-year-old is poised to complete a £40million move to the Premier League side, reports .
The Brazilian midfielder emerged as a target for new Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini after he took over at the London Stadium in May.
Anderson, 25, scored four goals from midfield for the Serie A club last season and has spent five years in Rome after a switch from Santos in 2013.
Santos are also set to receive a 25 per cent sell-on cut if the Italian club do sell.
Anderson fell out with boss Simone Inzaghi early last season, but returned to the first-team fold to make a significant impact.
Lazio were one of Serie A's entertainers last term and managed to dazzle, but ultimately fell short in their chase for Europe.
Since signing for the Italian side in 2013 for £6.8m, he has managed 34 goals and 42 assists.
Manchester United, Southampton and Leicester were all thought to be keen on adding the livewire midfielder to their ranks.
But Pellegrini looks to have won the race with the deal expected to be announced some time this week.
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It was only last month that the Hammers broke their transfer record when they shelled out £35m for Toulouse defender Issa Diop.
The French defender, 21, has been playing first-team football since he was 19 - racking up 85 games for the League 1 outfit.
And Manuel Pellegrini has been tempted to top the £24million spent on Marko Arnautovic last season.
Diop said: “I am very happy to sign for such a historic, English club, and I hope to show my best here.
“I am a very ambitious player and West Ham is a very ambitious club, as we’ve seen with the appointment of the new coach.
"I hope to help the team win lots of games and make the fans happy.”