Felipe Anderson claims are wide of the mark

Reports from Italy that advanced talks with Lazio are taking place about Felipe Anderson are wide of the mark Claret and Hugh has learnt.

While there appears to be some interest from West Ham in the in-form winger alongside a number of other targets including Javier Pastore, the talk of a rejected formal £33m bid and the player being close to signing appear to be agent generated stories to whip up competition.

Kia Joorabchian is thought to be a sub agent in the deal but there has been no direct contact with the super agent our insiders tell us. Lazio are thought to thought to value their player at £44m. Our club insider told this morning “The market has gone mad”

The 25-year-old right-winger scored four goals and provided seven assists in 21 appearances in Serie A last season. He also scored three goals in seven appearances in the Europa League as Lazio made the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by RB Salzburg.