Will Graham Potter secure any more new signings before the start of West Ham United’s Premier League campaign?
So far this summer, the cash-strapped Hammers have brought in both Callum Wilson and Kyle Walker-Peters on free transfers, while El Hadji Malick Diouf has arrived from Slavia Prague for a reported fee of £19m.
However, given that Mohammed Kudus has been sold to Tottenham for around £55m, the Irons are still in the market for midfield reinforcements, so have they pinpointed their prime target?
West Ham's search for a new midfielder
Earlier this week, it was reported that West Ham had identified Jacob Ramsey as their ‘top target’, willing to spend around £30m to secure the signature of the midfielder.
However, it was claimed that Aston Villa value the 24-year-old at close to £43m, with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham also purportedly interested, meaning this certainly will not be an easy deal to finalise.
Thus, potentially in need of an alternative, Football Insider reports that the Hammers are ‘plotting a late-window move’ for Mateus Fernandes of Southampton, adding that the Saints are ‘reluctant’ to sell, but the Portuguese under-21 international is ‘keen’ to return to the Premier League, following his side’s relegation.
It’ll therefore be interesting to see if he is involved in their EFL Championship opener against Wrexham at St Mary’s on Saturday.
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Fernandes joined Southampton from Sporting CP for £15m as recently as last August, but there claims he could fetch as much as £50m, which would make him West Ham’s record signing, surpassing the record of £45m held by Sébastien Haller.
Of course, the later into the window we get, if Fernandes pushes for a move, potentially the stronger West Ham’s negotiating position gets, so could the 21 year old soon swap the South Coast for the East End of London?
What Mateus Fernandes would bring to West Ham
Fernandes joined Sporting Clube de Portugal at the age of 12, and is the latest product of their academy forecast to go to the top.
He actually made just ten appearances for Sporting, his only goal in green and white hoops coming against Farense in the Taça da Liga group stages, spending the 2023/24 season on loan at fellow-Primeira Liga outfit Estoril Praia, before Southampton were convinced to sign him.
Analyst Ben Mattinson is certainly a fan, labelling him a “massive talent’, outlining that “passing” and “vision” are his key attributes, adding that he is a “solid ball-winner” and a “press-resistant midfielder”.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout agrees, asserting that he is a “big talent” who is definitely capable of remaining at Premier League level, while Kevin Araújo Fernandes of Breaking the Lines adds that he is ‘capable of covering ground with real intensity’, making him an ‘extremely talented’ all-round midfielder.
Ahead of Southampton’s visit to Old Trafford in January, Rúben Amorim, who was his manager at Sporting, described Fernandes as a “really good player” who is able to “overload the midfield” from wide areas, a skillset that should translate well to Potter’s West Ham team.
Nevertheless, the question remains: how does Fernandes compare to the Hammers’ other top midfield target Ramsey? Let’s find out.
Appearances
42
45
Minutes
3,365
2,074
Goals
3
4
Assists
6
7
All statistics below are on a per-90 basis:
Shots
0.7
0.7
Shots on target %
63.64%
33.33%
Chances created
1.1
1.1
Big chances created
0.18
0.28
Passes attempted
38.2
31.5
Duels contested
12
9
Tackles
2.8
1.7
Clearances
1
0.5
Interceptions
0.9
0.5
Ball recoveries
5.6
4.6
Touches
59
46
Average SofaScore rating
6.95
6.87
Caveats required for both: Ramsey’s minutes were limited last season due to injury and lack of selection, while Fernandes was playing for one of the worst teams in Premier League history, with Southampton collecting an ignominious 12 points.
With that out the way, the Portuguese midfielder’s underlying statistics are almost universally more impressive across the board, ranging from passing and touches, to out-of-possession metrics, namely duels, tackles, ball recoveries and interceptions.
The fact Southampton struggled so much may directly correlate as to why Fernandes’ defensive metrics were so high but, with many forecasting a tough campaign for West Ham too, this could certainly be useful.
Thus, if the Hammers are able to secure the highly-rated Portuguese youngster for a reasonable fee, he would surely prove to be a shrewd addition.
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