A self-styled South American football expert has been proved right with a prediction about West Ham United star Felipe Anderson.
The Brazilian attacker has been a huge hit since his record £40million move from Lazio last summer.
Brazilians often struggle to adapt to life in England.
But Anderson has taken to it like a duck to water.
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Initially the winger struggled for consistency. But nine goals and nearly as many assists, plus the most successful dribbles in the Premier League, have made him a star.
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Samba boy lighting up the Premier League
Sky Sports’ statistically calculated Power Rankings formula rated the top 100 players in Europe’s elite leagues earlier this season and Anderson came 90th.
He was also named among the top flight’s most creative players (Daily Mail).
Photo by Pereira Gomes
Felipe made to wait for second Brazil chance
But despite his superb form Anderson had been ignored by Brazil coach Tite.
That’s until this week when he was finally rewarded with only his second ever call-up to the senior Brazil side (whufc.com).
Brazil will take on Panama in Portugal on 23 March before heading to Prague to tackle Czech Republic three days later.
And that has proved self-styled South American football expert Tim Vickery right in a prediction he made six months ago.
Vickery, a freelance English football journalist who has lived in Brazil since 1994, is the South American football correspondent for outlets such as BBC Sport, ESPN and talkSPORT.
Explaining why Anderson was being overlooked by the Selecao, Vickery insisted if he maintained his form for West Ham the call-up would come.
Photo by Arfa Griffiths West Ham United via Getty Images
‘In the mix’
“(Anderson) failed at Under-20 level,” Vickery said on Twitter back in September.
“(He) has been inconsistent and there’s lots of competition.
“But keep it up and he’s in the mix.”
failed at Under-20 level, has been inconsistent and there’s lots of competition. But keep it up and he’s in the mix
— Tim Vickery (@Tim_Vickery) October 9, 2018
It is quite an honour for West Ham to boast a fully fledged Brazil international in their team.
Anderson will now be hoping to impress ahead of this summer’s Copa America.