A new magician has emerged to light up the gloomy London Stadium this season. Felipe Anderson’s brightened the mood of the Hammers fans by displaying some sensational moments throughout the season. A key figure in Manuel Pellegrini’s system, Anderson’s been given license to roam forward at will and has seized his opportunities.

The dazzling winger is not only capable of tricking his way past defenders, but he’s also developed a clinical edge to his game after arriving at the Premier League. He’s now scoring goals more frequently, having already netted eight times for the Hammers in the league, his personal best in almost five seasons.

Be it worldly free-kicks or smooth finishes of impressive attacking moves, Anderson’s provided joy to the fans with his brilliant goals. While some may argue he’s had to sacrifice his creative side for the goals, that isn’t exactly true.

Anderson’s provided three assists so far (most recently, a clever one for Michael Antonio’s equalizer against Liverpool) which could’ve been more had his team-mates been more prolific in finishing chances. The Brazilian’s created eight big chances so far, also recording 13 accurate through balls and 62 accurate long balls. He’s also adapted to the league’s physicality, winning over 150 duels so far.

Having won many points for the Hammers himself, Anderson’s a living proof of West Ham being on the rise. A worthy successor to Dimitri Payet, the Hammers need to protect him from outside interests if they wish to get back among the Premier League’s best.

While West Ham fans have had to suffer through a lot in recent seasons, the Anderson arrival (for around £36m) may well have moved to appease them. A figure of joy for the Irons faithful, he's exactly the kind of player to help build an exciting new era at the London Stadium and, indeed, could be the first great player those in East London enjoy there for a long time.