Welcome Mateus Fernandes

[Mex Martillo]

From Alans news

The Athletic

West Ham agree deal for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes



By David Ornstein and Jacob Tanswell

West Ham have agreed a deal for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes.

The deal is set to be worth £38million ($51.3m) with £3m worth of add-ons and a 15 per cent sell-on clause.

The 21-year-old Portugal youth international will be West Ham’s sixth signing of the summer, with the London side also in talks to sign midfielder Soungoutou Magassa from Monaco.

Fernandes joined Southampton in the summer of 2024 from Sporting CP and has made 46 appearances for the south-coast side that got relegated last season, scoring four goals and registering seven assists. He has played 36 times for Portugal’s youth teams up to under-21 level but is yet to make a senior international appearance.

Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season with seven games still to play, only a year after their promotion.

West Ham have lost their opening three games of the 2025-26 season, two in the Premier League and one against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. They are next in action away to Nottingham Forest on Sunday in the league.

(Photo: Pete Norton/Getty Images)

[Rossal]

Haha. So exactly what we are doing with Margassa, which you are moaning about on the other thread, saying you’d rather pay Man Utd £5m to develop their player. 

You’ve had a shocker here. Just proving you’re going to be negative no matter what. 

Ok so would i rather two £20m CM's if they scouted them like they scouted Fernandes last year (according to Fraser) over buying Fernandes for triple the price after a season where he didnt seem to do anything spectacular     YES 

Would i rather Mainoo on loan than this Monaco bloke no one has ever heard of till last week, isn't a regular in the Monaco team and their fans don't seem to bothered about losing?   YES 

clear enough for you yet? 

Why are you getting so uptight you wally?

We should have signed him last season, but we didn’t. That said, he is now more cookie cut, less of a gamble and so you pay an uplift. I’m sorry I don’t buy your nonsense he must be shit because Southampton. Would you have swerved Delap on the same logic?

Let me guess, Dibling would have been ok though because he’s English and therefore hyped by the English media?

As for Mainoo/Margassa. You mean you’d rather the bloke who wasn’t a regular for the team that finished 15th in the Premier League, and when he did start this season they got beat by Grimsby Town? And you want to pay £5m for the privilege of making him better to give back to Man Utd? Yet you also want us to find European talent not yet picked up by other clubs but you’re not happy with a France U21 midfielder on exactly that basis. 

Yeah, it’s all crystal clear, mate. 

But thats my point, one season in a awful team where he didnt stand out much and all of a sudden its less of a gamble .... at £42m!  Amazing. 

No because Delap was far more impressive last year, that's obvious.  Who has mentioned Dibling haha. £45m for him?  no thanks 

Yeah that is exactly it you finally got it. I'd rather Mainoo than this French kid. Reasons already stated. 

[stubbo-admin]

For those wondering about what this guy brings, a good article analysing him on the offical site:

https://www.whufc.com/news/clearly-spec ... s-analysed

All them stats give an indication of his potential but doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be allowed to bring it, even if he's on form. Being great at carrying the ball is all well and good as long as your manager doesn't tell you to just pass it to your nearest team-mate as soon as you've got the ball. Players like Kudus and Paqueta were making a lot more progressive carries and successful take-ons before Potter came along.

Totally agree.

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

For those wondering about what this guy brings, a good article analysing him on the offical site:

https://www.whufc.com/news/clearly-spec ... s-analysed

All them stats give an indication of his potential but doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be allowed to bring it, even if he's on form. Being great at carrying the ball is all well and good as long as your manager doesn't tell you to just pass it to your nearest team-mate as soon as you've got the ball. Players like Kudus and Paqueta were making a lot more progressive carries and successful take-ons before Potter came along.

[Ron Eff]

Haha. So exactly what we are doing with Margassa, which you are moaning about on the other thread, saying you’d rather pay Man Utd £5m to develop their player. 

You’ve had a shocker here. Just proving you’re going to be negative no matter what. 

Ok so would i rather two £20m CM's if they scouted them like they scouted Fernandes last year (according to Fraser) over buying Fernandes for triple the price after a season where he didnt seem to do anything spectacular     YES 

Would i rather Mainoo on loan than this Monaco bloke no one has ever heard of till last week, isn't a regular in the Monaco team and their fans don't seem to bothered about losing?   YES 

clear enough for you yet? 

Why are you getting so uptight you wally?

We should have signed him last season, but we didn’t. That said, he is now more cookie cut, less of a gamble and so you pay an uplift. I’m sorry I don’t buy your nonsense he must be shit because Southampton. Would you have swerved Delap on the same logic?

Let me guess, Dibling would have been ok though because he’s English and therefore hyped by the English media?

As for Mainoo/Margassa. You mean you’d rather the bloke who wasn’t a regular for the team that finished 15th in the Premier League, and when he did start this season they got beat by Grimsby Town? And you want to pay £5m for the privilege of making him better to give back to Man Utd? Yet you also want us to find European talent not yet picked up by other clubs but you’re not happy with a France U21 midfielder on exactly that basis. 

Yeah, it’s all crystal clear, mate. 

Bet you are also one of those saying we should have signed Ekitike for £38m when we had the chance AFTER he signed for Liverpool for mega money. Good old Captain Hindsight’s. 

[Ron Eff]

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do.  To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

I really hope you are right because we desperately need that in the middle.  Course I will wait to see him play, really hope he is a ball carrier with a bit of creativity. 

Haha. So exactly what we are doing with Margassa, which you are moaning about on the other thread, saying you’d rather pay Man Utd £5m to develop their player. 

You’ve had a shocker here. Just proving you’re going to be negative no matter what. 

Ok so would i rather two £20m CM's if they scouted them like they scouted Fernandes last year (according to Fraser) over buying Fernandes for triple the price after a season where he didnt seem to do anything spectacular     YES 

Would i rather Mainoo on loan than this Monaco bloke no one has ever heard of till last week, isn't a regular in the Monaco team and their fans don't seem to bothered about losing?   YES 

clear enough for you yet? 

Why are you getting so uptight you wally?

We should have signed him last season, but we didn’t. That said, he is now more cookie cut, less of a gamble and so you pay an uplift. I’m sorry I don’t buy your nonsense he must be shit because Southampton. Would you have swerved Delap on the same logic?

Let me guess, Dibling would have been ok though because he’s English and therefore hyped by the English media?

As for Mainoo/Margassa. You mean you’d rather the bloke who wasn’t a regular for the team that finished 15th in the Premier League, and when he did start this season they got beat by Grimsby Town? And you want to pay £5m for the privilege of making him better to give back to Man Utd? Yet you also want us to find European talent not yet picked up by other clubs but you’re not happy with a France U21 midfielder on exactly that basis. 

Yeah, it’s all crystal clear, mate. 

[9898]

 
He's done nothing to justify this price tag. We could have haggled with Liverpool for Harvey Elliott - that would have been much better business. Nine goals and a bunch of assists is excellent. 



 

This is a typical football supporter - what you fail to get is great.
Elliott is ban average and bottom 4 PL quality who people think is great because he done well for the U21's  
Elliott will flop whenever he goes, bang average when he played for a team who cruise the PL. 

[stubbo-admin]

For those wondering about what this guy brings, a good article analysing him on the offical site:

https://www.whufc.com/news/clearly-spec ... s-analysed

[Mad Ferret]

Rossknowsfuckall,

Clear as mud, son.

I’m not even sure you know what point you’re trying to make at this point, aside from just being a negative nancy.

[ray winstone]

Welcome Mateus, son.

[Keep dreaming]

So what can we expect from him and Potter?
Is he any good, and who will be replaced?

[Rossal]

 

How do you know there's a next one, what if they thought he was the real deal and are convinced he's going to go on and be worth twice that, do we cut off our noses to spite our face and buy someone else who may not adapt to the league?

There's not some sort of conveyor belt.. 

Why don't you wait to see him play for us 

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do.  To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

I really hope you are right because we desperately need that in the middle.  Course I will wait to see him play, really hope he is a ball carrier with a bit of creativity. 

Haha. So exactly what we are doing with Margassa, which you are moaning about on the other thread, saying you’d rather pay Man Utd £5m to develop their player. 

You’ve had a shocker here. Just proving you’re going to be negative no matter what. 

Ok so would i rather two £20m CM's if they scouted them like they scouted Fernandes last year (according to Fraser) over buying Fernandes for triple the price after a season where he didnt seem to do anything spectacular     YES 

Would i rather Mainoo on loan than this Monaco bloke no one has ever heard of till last week, isn't a regular in the Monaco team and their fans don't seem to bothered about losing?   YES 

clear enough for you yet? 

[Ron Eff]

 

Premier league proven is a big claim. He has had one season in arguably the worst team ever.   

Well we identified him for £12m, is it a risk to trust the same staff to identify the next one and go for it?     Is it not riskier to spend £42m on this bloke after one season? 

 

How do you know there's a next one, what if they thought he was the real deal and are convinced he's going to go on and be worth twice that, do we cut off our noses to spite our face and buy someone else who may not adapt to the league?

There's not some sort of conveyor belt.. 

Why don't you wait to see him play for us 

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do.  To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

I really hope you are right because we desperately need that in the middle.  Course I will wait to see him play, really hope he is a ball carrier with a bit of creativity. 

Haha. So exactly what we are doing with Margassa, which you are moaning about on the other thread, saying you’d rather pay Man Utd £5m to develop their player. 

You’ve had a shocker here. Just proving you’re going to be negative no matter what. 

[Pav BML]

I think it's a good signing, he's not going to transform the midfield on his own but he's a big step up on what we have. With Mangassa, we are at least looking at the right profiles (young, hungry, mobile players), even if we've spent a fair bit on Fernandes. Judging by the initial comments from Saints fans, they thought it should be 50-60 million. Now it's done you can tell by the bitter comments thinking he should've gone somewhere better that there's a good player there. 

[fraser]

 

Premier league proven is a big claim. He has had one season in arguably the worst team ever.   

Well we identified him for £12m, is it a risk to trust the same staff to identify the next one and go for it?     Is it not riskier to spend £42m on this bloke after one season? 

 

How do you know there's a next one, what if they thought he was the real deal and are convinced he's going to go on and be worth twice that, do we cut off our noses to spite our face and buy someone else who may not adapt to the league?

There's not some sort of conveyor belt.. 

Why don't you wait to see him play for us 

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do.  To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

I really hope you are right because we desperately need that in the middle.  Course I will wait to see him play, really hope he is a ball carrier with a bit of creativity. 

But I didn't say that did I, I said I thought he was overpriced... You'd be the first to moan if we did that and they didn't adapt to the league. 

What if someone else signed him and he had a stellar season.. Like I said earlier Forest bought MGW and the general consensus was it was an outrageous overpriced fee and most took the piss.... 

I didn't say it was the only value but they may be convinced that he's the real deal..

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do. To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

He wants to go on loan, if the fee is him for a season for £5m or this Monaco bloke for £20m i know what i am choosing. 

[Rossal]

1) that was he was premier league proven- have a peek at any saints forum you will see he was about their only positive last season, so its much less of a risk

2) we're desperate now and don't have the luxury of taking measured risks

3) its hours before deadline day, 

4) you're assuming we've actually done any further homework on suitable players

Not sure you've been paying attention last few seasons but we're not exactly great at spotting young talent before anyone else and taking the risk, so failing that I'd rather they pay over the odds on the next best thing, players that others took a risk on and bedded them in

 

Premier league proven is a big claim. He has had one season in arguably the worst team ever.   

Well we identified him for £12m, is it a risk to trust the same staff to identify the next one and go for it?     Is it not riskier to spend £42m on this bloke after one season? 

 

How do you know there's a next one, what if they thought he was the real deal and are convinced he's going to go on and be worth twice that, do we cut off our noses to spite our face and buy someone else who may not adapt to the league?

There's not some sort of conveyor belt.. 

Why don't you wait to see him play for us 

Because young promising CM's are scattered all over Europe. You just have to go and find them like the Brighton's., Chelsea's, Wolves and Bournemouths do.  To suggest he is the ONLY one providing any value right now at £42M is pretty mental. 

I really hope you are right because we desperately need that in the middle.  Course I will wait to see him play, really hope he is a ball carrier with a bit of creativity. 

[fraser]

We have overpaid for this fella.

He's done nothing to justify this price tag. We could have haggled with Liverpool for Harvey Elliott - that would have been much better business. Nine goals and a bunch of assists is excellent. 

Fernandes is another panic buy. He'll probably look like a 'Potter Player' - lots of safe passes, doesn't give the ball away much, but lacks any real penetration. 

Nonetheless, I really hope it works out - because we desperately need a shot in the arm right now. 


 

He plays in a different position to Elliot 

[fraser]

If we identified him before at £12m.......

Surely if we are skint we are better off going to identify the next one for £12m instead of paying over 3 times as much for this guy a year later after a shocking season? 

1) that was he was premier league proven- have a peek at any saints forum you will see he was about their only positive last season, so its much less of a risk

2) we're desperate now and don't have the luxury of taking measured risks

3) its hours before deadline day, 

4) you're assuming we've actually done any further homework on suitable players

Not sure you've been paying attention last few seasons but we're not exactly great at spotting young talent before anyone else and taking the risk, so failing that I'd rather they pay over the odds on the next best thing, players that others took a risk on and bedded them in

 

Premier league proven is a big claim. He has had one season in arguably the worst team ever.   

Well we identified him for £12m, is it a risk to trust the same staff to identify the next one and go for it?     Is it not riskier to spend £42m on this bloke after one season? 

 

 

How do you know there's a next one, what if they thought he was the real deal and are convinced he's going to go on and be worth twice that, do we cut off our noses to spite our face and buy someone else who may not adapt to the league?

There's not some sort of conveyor belt.. 

Why don't you wait to see him play for us 

[Mad Ferret]

We could have haggled with Liverpool for Harvey Elliott - that would have been much better business. Nine goals and a bunch of assists is excellent. 
 

Can he play CM?

[camel-with-3-humps]

We have overpaid for this fella.

He's done nothing to justify this price tag. We could have haggled with Liverpool for Harvey Elliott - that would have been much better business. Nine goals and a bunch of assists is excellent. 

Fernandes is another panic buy. He'll probably look like a 'Potter Player' - lots of safe passes, doesn't give the ball away much, but lacks any real penetration. 

Nonetheless, I really hope it works out - because we desperately need a shot in the arm right now. 

 

[Rossal]

If we identified him before at £12m.......

Surely if we are skint we are better off going to identify the next one for £12m instead of paying over 3 times as much for this guy a year later after a shocking season? 

1) that was he was premier league proven- have a peek at any saints forum you will see he was about their only positive last season, so its much less of a risk

2) we're desperate now and don't have the luxury of taking measured risks

3) its hours before deadline day, 

4) you're assuming we've actually done any further homework on suitable players

Not sure you've been paying attention last few seasons but we're not exactly great at spotting young talent before anyone else and taking the risk, so failing that I'd rather they pay over the odds on the next best thing, players that others took a risk on and bedded them in

 

 

Premier league proven is a big claim. He has had one season in arguably the worst team ever.   

Well we identified him for £12m, is it a risk to trust the same staff to identify the next one and go for it?     Is it not riskier to spend £42m on this bloke after one season? 

[Mad Ferret]

Also regarding the criticism, what's wrong with being pissed off that we could have bought him for £12m a season ago when we were looking at him then?

Lopetegui didn't want him.

[fraser]

Interesting how some people just have to find a way to be negative. Judge him once you’ve watched him play for us, maybe?



 

I will.  Like pretty much everyone else, I didn't notice him at all last season, so it's the only way to judge him.

 

 

I didn't either, but that doesn't make me assume he was shit.. Could go either way, but easier to assume he's 'shocking' cause then they get to say they called it. 

[Lee Trundle]

Also regarding the criticism, what's wrong with being pissed off that we could have bought him for £12m a season ago when we were looking at him then?

[Rossal]

Interesting seeing Fernandes compared with the likes of Parker and Rice.

A lot to live up to.

 

as far as I can see no one's done that, they've just been used to refute the silly theory no player can have a good season playing in the middle for a shit team

 

 

I didnt say that, but did he have a good season last year thats the point?  To triple in price at £42m would suggest he didnt only stand out in Soton's team but stood out in the whole league and did he?   No one can tell me why he was so good last season......

[Lee Trundle]

Interesting how some people just have to find a way to be negative. Judge him once you’ve watched him play for us, maybe?

 

I will.  Like pretty much everyone else, I didn't notice him at all last season, so it's the only way to judge him.