Fighting for a European spot in the Premier League is no longer the awe-inspiring prospect it once was in east London, with West Ham United now boasting quality of impressive merit.
That is not to say that qualifying for continental competition has lost its spellbinding charm, rather, it's an illumination of the strides made under the management of David Moyes, with success across multiple fronts now the standard at the London Stadium.
Indeed, West Ham are currently playing their third successive season in European competition, having secured sixth and seventh-place finishes across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 league seasons, respectively, before slumping to a 16th-placed end to last term.
Not to worry, the Irons bagged the Europa Conference League trophy, opening the door to this season's Europa League group stage proper, and a new window of silver-laden opportunity.
It's been a portentous chapter in West Ham's proud history, and one that has not yet reached its epilogue, with the squad thriving across all fronts this season, top of their group in Europe and just three points off Liverpool in the top four.
This cohesive unity is a product of Moyes' stellar work, and while last season brought illustrious success, there is a sense that a step has been taken to better last year's feats.
Who was West Ham's best player last season?
Despite the obvious struggles in the Premier League last season, there were some standout performers for the trophy-winning Hammers.
Indeed, Declan Rice is the obvious example, having won the club's Player of the Year award and been hailed as a "monster" by ESPN's David Cartlidge before completing a £105m transfer to Arsenal in July.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta are further candidates for the star player, with Bowen posting 13 goals and eight assists, including the winning goal in the Conference League final against Fiorentina, and his Brazilian counterpart earning the assist – and summer transfer attention from Manchester City, who pushed for an £80m deal.
Veteran talisman Michail Antonio was also essential to the success, scoring 14 goals and supplying five assists from 48 appearances.
Each and every one of the Irons squad failed to surpass former player Felipe Anderson's 2022/23 seasonal tally, however, with the Brazilian winger reborn in Italy after flattering to deceive for much of his time in east London.
Why did West Ham sell Felipe Anderson?
Signed from Serie A side Lazio for a club-record £36m fee in July 2018, West Ham's acquisition was a real signal of intent for "one of the most exciting talents in European football", according to former director of football, Mario Husillos.
He had just produced an electrifying season in Rome, posting eight goals and nine assists as Le Aquile recorded a fifth-place finish under Simeone Inzaghi, leading Opta to dub him a “wizard”.
His maiden campaign in England tantalised a happy marriage for club and player, having scored ten goals and registered five assists across all competitions.
And indeed, his flicks and tricks won the hearts of the side's ravenous fanbase, who saw the potential of such a star and cheered his every twist.
His displays led teammate Aaron Cresswell to claim: "I can see him becoming a fans’ favourite like Dimitri [Payet]. 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.”
But after that promising first year, the 30-year-old's presence waned and he managed just one goal across the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign, living up to journalist Adam Rigby's prior prediction that he "can be either unplayable for opposition defences or, er, unplayable for his own manager."
Ben Foster also stated that he could "not cut it" after his toils, and after joining Porto on an unsuccessful loan deal in 2021, earning just one assist from ten matches, he jumped ship back to Lazio in 2021 for a reported fee of just £2.6m.
How is Felipe Anderson performing now?
Since gracing Italian soil once more, the two-cap international has revelled in the rediscovery of his cutting edge, plundering 15 goals and assists over the 2021/22 season before clinching 12 goals and nine assists last term.
Dubbed a "terrific talent" by Robert Snodgrass, Anderson was always a player of natural style but clearly suffered when West Ham declined in the months preceding Moyes' second appointment, and his lack of application left him outside the Scottish manager's tactical vision and hence led to his departure.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles and the top 3% for interceptions per 90, emphasising the workrate that Moyes demands from his players.
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
23/24
10
0
4
22/23
50
12
9
21/22
48
7
8
20/21
10
0
1
20/21
5
1
2
19/20
28
1
6
18/19
40
10
5
*Key: Bold = WHU; Italics = Porto
Last season, his complete tally of 21 direct goal contributions sits above any of his erstwhile West Ham teammates, aside from that man Bowen, highlighting his immense qualities that could have been harnessed to a far greater effect.
Of course, he might not have produced numbers so emphatic had he plied his trade in the Premier League, arguably the highest-quality division in the world, but he has still succeeded in restoring his attacking verve over the past two years.
Maurizio Sarri is among those to wax lyrical over Anderson's qualities, saying: “I’ve coached many great players, but I’ve rarely seen anyone with the potential of Felipe….he has extraordinary gifts.”
Well, for a manager who has utilised the talents of players such as Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens, this is quite the adulation, and while Anderson's initially exciting spell in east London festered into a most underwhelming stint, he remains one of the most talented players to have plied their trade as an Iron.
And given that he has been restored since rejoining Lazio, it's fair to say that he could have contributed much more to a West Ham side on the up.
