Italian journalist Gianluca DiMarzio claims West Ham’s initial bid for Felipe Anderson was just £17.5m plus add-ons which was rejected by Lazio who want something closer to £35m he claims on his football website.

DiMarzio says: “West Ham have officially started their pursuit of Felipe Anderson, making an offer of € 20m plus add ons to Lazio for the Brazilian. Lazio value the player at double that amount, so there is a difference between the sides to land the Lazio attacking playmaker.”

Initial reports one week ago suggested Lazio turned a West Ham bid of £33m instead holding out for £44m but these figures were discredited by club insiders at the time as inflated.

Days later Tutto Mercato Web claimed the price for the player was, in fact, €30m (£26.5m) and €8m (£7m) of add-ons.

Anderson is said to want around £80,000 per week in wages to join West Ham should a price be agreed with Lazio.