Mateus Fernandes has filled the Paqueta void at West Ham – but might now have outgrown them

There has been an increase in the number of European scouts attending games at the London Stadium to monitor a talent who is not expected to remain at West Ham United for much longer.

The player in question is 21-year-old midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who has been a consistent performer in the club’s quest for Premier League survival. Since joining from Southampton last summer in a deal worth £38million, Fernandes has registered five goals and four assists across 40 appearances this season. Most impressive was his long-range strike in the 3-1 victory against Sunderland in January.

It highlighted why the Portugal international is a sought-after talent. Nine months after his arrival, West Ham are already planning for life without him. Sources with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say the club have conceded Fernandes will be sold to help fund their summer recruitment, irrespective of which league they will be in next season.

Fernandes, who signed a five-year deal with the option of a further year, does not have a release clause in his contract. But West Ham expect to significantly improve on the fee they paid last year, although Championship side Southampton negotiated a 15 per cent sell-on clause following his departure.

Although the midfielder could experience back-to-back relegations to the Championship, his ability and potential far exceeds that of a player fighting to ensure top-flight safety. At the end of the 2024-25 season, when Southampton finished bottom of the league, Fernandes was named the fans’ player of the season. He scored twice and registered four assists in 36 league appearances. Fernandes, who joined Southampton from Portuguese club Sporting CP in August 2024 for £15m, only made five league appearances for his boyhood club. He struggled to force his way into the team with fellow midfielders Matheus Nunes, Manuel Ugarte and Joao Palhinha ahead of him.

“What we lost is a very valuable young player who, in my opinion, has the characteristics to be a great player, but choices were made,” then Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim told Portuguese outlet A Bola in 2024. “We do everything together, we sit down in a room and Mateus was a player who cost us a lot, but when they ask me if we can lose Goncalo (Inacio), I say no, if we can lose Morten (Hjulmand), I say no. We really wanted to keep Mateus and, honestly, I think he would have liked to stay, despite it being a big contract and a big league. It was a difficult moment for everyone, but I repeat, we have to make choices and in the end, as a coach, I also make them.”

Sporting’s lost jewel has been polished by Southampton and West Ham. Despite an initial slow start at the London Stadium, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo favouring Lucas Paqueta as the main midfield attacking outlet, Fernandes has stepped up since Paqueta’s €41.25m (£35.8m) January departure to Brazilian side Flamengo.

(Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Two of his four assists came in wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley, he has formed a promising midfield partnership with Tomas Soucek and came close to scoring in last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal. Fernandes is capable of playing in a deeper midfield role, a winger and as a No 10. He is better suited in an attacking role and often gets licence to roam forward, with Soucek sitting deep. Paqueta mainly played further afield when he and Fernandes were in the starting XI.

It was former head coach Graham Potter who pushed for the club to sign Fernandes. He viewed the midfielder as a top transfer target and although West Ham’s opening offer of £30m including add-ons was rejected, Potter convinced the club to make a counter-offer. Fernandes was a parting gift to Nuno, who succeeded Potter in late September. In an interview with the club’s official website, the midfielder expressed appreciation to his fellow compatriot.

“Last season at Southampton, I was playing more forward, like a winger, but midfielder is my position,” said Fernandes in January. “When I spoke with the head coach (Nuno) he asked me about my favourite position. I told him, of course, I can play winger or defender if you want, but midfield is the best position (for me).

“I’m playing much better than when I arrived. Of course, the head coach helped me a lot. He gave me confidence to be free and to play what I feel. As I said before many times, the game against Leeds (in October) was the most important game for me because I went to the bench and I took some time to think about the things I was doing. It was time to learn about that moment. I think I’m a much better player now than I was before.”

The 2-1 loss to Leeds is the only league match Fernandes has not started under Nuno. His former academy coaches predicted he would play a starring role in the second half of the season. Fernandes has gained confidence from being an ever-present figure and in March received a senior call-up for the Portugal national team. The midfielder, who amassed 38 caps for the junior teams from under-18 to under-21 level, made his debut under manager Roberto Martinez in a friendly against the United States.

“What Mateus is doing now is incredible,” Martinez told a group of reporters at his press conference. “We all know his journey and what he did in the under-21s. It’s very important for us to see what he can do, his energy, his versatility. He deserves this call-up to the national team.”

At the start of the season, Fernandes wrote down a list of targets. Playing at the World Cup ranked high and, should he fulfil his target, an audience far greater than the London Stadium will see why he is considered such a highly-rated talent.