Gazzetta dello Sport are claiming that Lazio have rebuffed a a €38 million bid from West Ham for star forward Felipe Anderson over the past few days.
Lazio failed to qualify for the Champions League on the final day of last season and are understood to be keen on earning some cash through transfers instead. Anderson, one of their prized assets, won’t come cheap to potential suitors though, and that includes West Ham.
When the Brazilian signed for Lazio in 2013 from Santos, both sides agreed a 25% sell-on clause. That’s presumably why Simone Inzaghi and company are interested in pushing the number up as much as they can. It could also mean West Ham end up paying closer to €50 million (around £43 million).
If they do, the club could potentially (almost) double their previous record transfer fee for Marko Arnautović last year; if performance-related add-ons are met, the deal taking Arnautović from Stoke City to West Ham could rise to £25 million.