West Ham winger Felipe Anderson says he is very excited by the potential of the current Hammers squad. The Brazilian believes the current crop of players have had a year to gel together and he is expecting a better season as a result:

“Last year, a lot of players arrived so it was hard because we didn’t know each other and we had to play together straight away, but now we have spent a year together so this year we need to improve. It’s good because this year we feel like we have feeling for each other, we play happy and work hard.”

“There’s a lot of competition because there’s a lot of quality players, everyone can play in the same level, and that’s good. We are training hard and that’s good for West Ham. I’m excited. I’m sure we can do really great things this season.”

Last weekend’s defeat to Crystal Palace does suggest there is still a way to go for this team. Manager Manuel Pellegrini has emphasised the need for consistency but despite some good form this campaign, there have been some poor performances as well.

Anderson is correct to highlight the talent within the squad. Along with the Brazilian, the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Andriy Yarmolenko can all offer a great deal in the attacking third.

With Sebastien Haller leading the line, there is more enough quality to score the goals needed to challenge in the top half of the table. If they want to push on over the coming months, though, these players will all need to perform on a consistent basis.