Felipe Anderson has emerged as a surprise target for Real Madrid.
The West Ham United winger is being seen as a short term replacement for Chelsea forward Eden Hazard. Madrid are planning for a massive summer spending spree and Zinedine Zidane is likely to have a whopping £300m available for him to bring his choice of players.
Hazard remains the preferred choice for Zidane but with Chelsea’s transfer ban has complicated the situation for them. The Blues are banned from registering any new players in the next two transfer windows and could be forced to keep the Belgian at the Stamford Bridge until his contract runs out.
Anderson was the Hammers’ record signing as the London giants paid close to £34m to rope in the attacker from Lazio. The Brazilian struggled initially to acclimatise to the English condition but gradually has become an inevitable part of Manuel Pellegrini’s starting lineup.
It would be a massive step up for Anderson who also earned a recall to the Brazil national team for his excellent display on the left side of the attack. A suitable offer from the Spanish giants would be too hard to resist for the Hammers who are very keen to return to Europe next season.