West Ham sign Lazio's Anderson for club record fee

London (AFP) – West Ham have signed Lazio’s Brazilian midfielder Felipe Anderson for a club-record transfer fee on a four-year deal, the Premier League side announced on Sunday.

The 25-year-old moves after five years in Serie A to the London Stadium in a deal reported to be around £35 million (40 million euros).

“The deal sees us significantly break our transfer record and we feel it’s a real statement of intent,” said West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan.

“West Ham is a club with a lot of tradition, lots of great players have played here, like Bobby Moore, Carlos Tevez and (Paolo) Di Canio,”  Anderson told his new employer’s official website.

“They were great players and idols here, and I’m aiming big, who knows, maybe I could hit their heights and be a legend here too. I’m really happy to be here. It’s a dream come true.”

The Brazil international joined Lazio in 2013 after making his name with Sao Paolo side Santos as a teenager. The attacking midfielder scored 34 goals in 177 appearances for the Rome club.

He is new West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini’s seventh signing, following those of Ryan Fredericks, Lukasz Fabianski, Issa Diop, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko and Fabian Balbuena.