For those that pick me up on it, I avoided using the’w’-word: Probably the most overused noun for ‘up and coming talented youngster’.
However the authors of the report reviewing and ranking every young super-talented Premier League youngster achieved no such self control. The ‘Wonderkid power rankings‘ (I kid you not) – as they’ve become christened, rates every starlet according to their performances.
And the big, if not totally surprising news, is that one of ‘West Ham’s finest‘ is currently fourth in said ‘power rankings’ – behind three top ‘junior superstars’ shall we call them.
Behind Michael Kayode (1st), Noah Sadiki (2nd) and Nico O’Reilly (3rd) sits- West Ham’s own Mateus Fernandes.
Potts may have grabbed the headlines but Mateus Fernandes gets the real recognition
According to the report in 3addedminutes.com, who have produced the rankings, Fernandes would normally be even higher were it not for the outstanding performances of the three above him:
“It’s hard to find a single fault with Fernandes’ play against Burnley – the Portuguese midfield was in fine form right the way up and down the pitch, his passing and use of the ball was superb, his ability to retain possession under pressure highly impressive and his defensive work when tracking back was rock solid throughout.
The former Southampton man barely misplaced a pass all match, was responsible for three key passes, completed all three of his attempted tackles and forced three turnovers, too, a high-quality all-round statline that very fairly represented a game in which he was arguably the best player on the field. In most weeks, he’d be on the move up the table, but this was also a week in which everyone above him was in fine fettle as well…”
Whilst Freddie Potts may have grabbed the headlines in east London, it is Fernandes who has been recognised as being in the top five young prospects in the whole Premier League.
Just for the record, Fernandes is ranked above: 5th Estevão Willian (Chelsea), 6th Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea), 7th Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), 8th Yankuba Minteh (Brighton), 9th Lesley Ugochukwu (Burnley) and 10th Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth).
And that’s a pretty loft achievement and one which surely justifies the £40 million-plus that West Ham paid for him in August.
Already living up to the huge price tag, whether it was Potter, Macaulay or Sullivan who got the deal over the line it matters not: All that is important is that for a change, West Ham captured an absolute, no question, top quality player who, at still only 21, can take the club to new heights.
Now that’s what I call a wonderkid.
We have a lot of good youngsters playing, some like Fernandes have played PL for a while, others like Potts are only starting. Bearing in mind what happened to Wiltshere plagued by injuries from an early age, they’ll need probably need resting (physically) on a regular basis. Even if the player, fans & manager want him to play.
Fernandes is on U21 international duty as well. Perhaps their bodies become hardened to the athleticism of PL play, but I wonder if that is possible. Potts pulled up with a hamstring scare & already that is a little worrying, Earthy is regularly injured too – could be the stop-start nature of being on the fringe.
WHU will need to build up a squad with a bit of depth for this. – might need periodic rest periods for younger players?
Great piece Martin. Good news for the faithful at last. Just hope that this news translates into team performances and success on the field. Looking promising at the moment.
COYI
Congratulations Martin for making the effort. Let’s face it, if there is more than a few saying the same thing, then maybe there is some substance to it? There was a time when journalists and authors strived to avoid using the same word over and over, and in the process broadened their vocabulary. Not so the sheep like behaviour today when people either fall into the monotonous trap (like the authors of the report) or make up stupid words (like uptick) rather than reach for a thesaurus. Also, I think the real problem with the recent use of the term “wonderkid” was applying it to every single player under 21 and that could actually kick a ball. Let’s hope that Fernandes turns out to be everything we all hope he will and stays around long enough to play CL football for West Ham. Now that would be wonder…ful.
Yes typically a wonderkid is under the age of 21 yet I’d say Fernandes is a wonderkid. He ticks the key boxes, young age, top‑level league experience, high‑end club transfer value, strong skillset and room to improve.