West Ham United have struggled to make a huge impact in the Premier League so far this season, winning just three of their opening ten meetings in 2024/25.
Julen Lopetegui’s suffered yet another defeat on Saturday afternoon, losing 3-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground after Edson Alvarez saw red for the second time in just a few weeks after a second bookable offence.
As a result, the Hammers currently sit 14th in the table, just six points clear of the relegation zone, with the Spaniard struggling to make the immediate impact many fans would’ve hoped for.
Only three sides have shipped more goals since the beginning of the season, with their tally of 19 goals conceded making it difficult to come away from any matches with any tangible reward – often needing multiple goals to secure just a point.
Given their recent struggles, many must wish they had the calibre of one former player who caught the eye during his stint as a player in East London.
Dimitri Payet’s stats at West Ham
French midfielder Dimitri Payet arrived in the summer of 2015 for their final season at the Boleyn Ground, looking to make a huge impact on the club’s first team.
However, no one could have envisaged his impact with the Hammers, taking everyone by surprise during his 18-month stint in the Premier League.
His debut year at the club saw him notch 12 goals and 14 assists in all competitions – which included a memorable free-kick in the meeting with Crystal Palace.
However, after registering nine goal contributions during the first few months of the 2016/17 campaign, Payet’s time in England would come to an abrupt end after the Frenchman submitted a transfer request and ended up rejoining former side Marseille.
No fan can begrudge the midfielder for wanting to return to his homeland, but there’s no denying his impact has been hugely missed – with his ability to create a moment of magic out of nothing something which Lopetegui’s side desperately lack.
However, at one point, many people thought that the Hammers had secured a deal for one talent who could’ve followed in the footsteps of Payet and been the perfect replacement for the attacking midfielder.
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The man who was meant to be the next Payet
The summer of 2018 gave West Ham the opportunity to strengthen their squad and finally replace Payet nearly 18 months after his return to Ligue 1.
As a result, the hierarchy turned their attention to Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson, securing a £36m deal to sign him from Italian side Lazio – breaking the club’s record transfer in the process.
However, the excitement over the deal would be short-lived given his lack of impact at the London Stadium, making just a total of 73 appearances over a three-year spell in the Premier League, scoring just 12 times with ten of his goals coming in his debut campaign.
He would receive praise from teammate Aaron Cresswell, with the left-back stating:
“I can see him becoming a fans’ favourite like Dimitri. He’s a similar type of player, coming off the left, creating things and scoring goals. He is our top scorer now, he has been fantastic for us.”
Anderson would rapidly fall down the pecking order in the 2020/21 season, featuring just five times under David Moyes, resulting in a loan move to join Portuguese side Porto.
The move would fail to catapult him back into the Scotsman’s plans at West Ham, subsequently re-joining former side Lazio in the summer of 2021, three years after leaving, for a fee in the region of just £2.5m.
2018/19
40
10
5
2019/20
28
1
6
2020/21
5
1
2
Total:
73
12
13
Such a transfer saw the club losing £33.5m in just three years, a shocking deal all-round, with the club still yet to find the perfect replacement for Payet in 2024.
Given the fee and hype around such a transfer, it’s such a shame that the move never lived up to expectations – setting the club back millions and delaying their ambitions of filling the void left by the Frenchman.
Unfortunately for both parties, Anderson simply wasn’t cut out for the demands of the Premier League, as demonstrated by his rapid decline which now sees him feature for Palmeiras back in his homeland.
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