Behind-the-scenes Felipe Anderson information as Brazilian fails to feature in West Ham v Dundee
Felipe Anderson was named in the West Ham squad to face Dundee on Friday but he got changed out of his kit at half-time, according to Tom Clark.
However, contrary to initial reports, Anderson did not leave the stadium at half-time.
The West Ham correspondent for Football.London detailed Anderson’s movements on his personal Twitter profile during the fixture at Kilmac Stadium, where he was present.
Clark wrote: “He did not warm up with the rest of the bench during the first half when a coach took them to the end of the pitch.”
He added: “Anderson had changed out of boots and into trainers. He and the other player went to the dressing room with clothes and towel under their arms presumably to shower, before he returned to stand to watch the second half (out of my view but I am assured he was there).
“He will fly back with the rest of the squad to London at 5pm. He did not leave the stadium during the game, just went to shower then returned for the remainder of the second half.”
On the verge of an Irons exit
If the signs were not already bleedingly obvious that Anderson is close to sealing an exit this summer, then this was surely the final confirmation.
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a return to Lazio in recent weeks, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano among the prominent journalists to have reported his impending departure.
There was an initial suggestion from Clark that Anderson had left Dundee’s stadium at half-time on Friday, but he quickly followed up with assurances that it was not the case.
Nevertheless, his no-show in Friday’s friendly is surely the curtain call on his Irons career, one that started so brightly but quickly faded out into obscurity.
Signed by Manuel Pellegrini in 2018, Anderson scored nine Premier League goals in his maiden campaign, but his follow-up was a massive disappointment and he was shipped out on loan to Porto for the 2020/21 season, where he failed to shine once again.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are close to signing this 2018 World Cup winner on a loan to buy deal which could be completed within days.
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