Manchester United target on verge of completing move to West Ham

The Hammers' summer rebuild continues at pace

He has been linked with Manchester United since the Ice Age began to thaw and normal life returned to this planet we called home, but it now appears that Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson will in fact be joining West Ham United. The Brazilian international has been with Lazio for more than five years, making 137 appearances and scoring 25 goals in the process. He has hugely impressed during his spell at the Rome club, resulting in rumours linking with the vast majority of Europe's biggest clubs. Manchester United have been the club predominantly linked with him, as they are with the vast majority of breathing humans, but West Ham's recruitment drive this summer looks set to finally claim him. In a tweet on the subject, respected Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that the deal was close to completion, with the only remaining formality being the award of a work permit for Anderson. https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1017022739637571584 West Ham appointed former Villarreal, Real Madrid and Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini as manager earlier in the summer, replacing David Moyes. Since his appointment Pellegrini has overseen something of a squad overhaul, bringing in Jack Wilshere, Issa Diop, Andriy Yarmelenko, Lukasz Fabianski and Ryan Fredericks in the process as well as Felipe Anderson. The club have also recalled midfielder Reece Oxford from his loan spell with Borussia Moenchengladbach.