Luca Toni compares Felipe Anderson to Franck Ribery

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Ex-Italy striker Luca Toni has drawn comparisons between West Ham’s Felipe Anderson and Franck Ribery.

In an interview with La Gazetta dello Sport via Calcio Mercato, Toni praised Anderson’s ability to create chances for the strikers in the same way Ribery did.

Toni won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 and played up front for Bayern Munich. While with the German giants, he thrived off the service from Ribery and believes Anderson is a similar player.

Luca Toni’s words

Toni was giving his opinion on Lazio striker Ciro Immobile. The 41-year-old believes Immobile is “lucky” to have had such good service from the attacking midfielders at the club.

He told La Gazetta dello Sport: “Ciro Immobile is a lucky striker. He can play with the likes of Luis Alberto and Milinkovic-Savic. Last year he could also rely on Felipe Anderson.

“They all have something in common: they like to assist their team-mates and put them in the best conditions to score goals.”

Continuing on, Toni compared ex-Liverpool man Alberto, Milinkovic-Savic and Anderson to Ribery and distinguished them from Arjen Robben.

Toni believes Robben was selfish with the ball and just wanted to score himself, while Ribery looked for assists.

He added: “It felt the same when I was playing for Bayern. I was playing with Ribery and I think he put me in front of the goal like 100 times. He is not like Robben, he wanted to score more than delivering assists.”

West Ham still waiting for Anderson’s best

Anderson arrived at West Ham this summer in a club-record move. He cost the Hammers a club-record £36m.

So far, the Brazilian has blown hot and cold, showing signs of promise but failing to deliver in other games.

His performance against Arsenal was encouraging; his display against Wolves proved he is still finding his feet in England.

Anderson’s only assist so far came against Arsenal, linking up well with Marko Arnautovic, who provided the finishing touch.

West Ham fans are desperate to see some consistency from the 25-year-old. If he plays like Ribery, it will only be a matter of time before the Irons are charging up the league table.