Felipe Anderson’s unsuccessful loan spell at Porto will come to a premature end this January, according to a report in the Guardian.
The Brazilian was a late substitute for West Ham ’s opening two games of the season and played every minute of the League Cup campaign.
Despite scoring once and assisting two in the Cup, manager David Moyes deemed Anderson surplus to requirements and a season-long loan deal to Porto was arranged.
Anderson has since made only five appearances for the Portuguese side and has yet to play the full 90 minutes. His last league appearance came back in October and he has failed to score in any of his matches in Portugal.
West Ham are sitting comfortably in mid-table, just three points behind fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur, so it does not look like Moyes needs Anderson back in the fold.
Finding a club in January to permanently take on his reported £115,000-a-week wages is unlikely in the current market, leaving another loan as the best option for all involved.
West Ham will hope a productive loan spell for the second half of the season will do enough to persuade suitors of his value and take the Brazilian off their hands over the summer.
Anderson was West Ham’s record signing when he joined the club in 2018 for a reported £35m. He settled in quickly, scoring 10 and assisting five goals across all competitions as Manuel Pellegrini led the team to a tenth placed league finish.
The Brazilian failed to build on this good start, however, and by the end of last season was used sparingly by Moyes.
The signing of Said Benrahma in October was perhaps the final writing on the wall for Anderson’s West Ham career.
