Crystal Palace and Leeds, along with West Ham, it seems, are about to be disappointed over their pursuit for Southampton’s rising star. Certainly enthusing Hammers fans when his name was first linked with a summer move, Mateus Fernandes seemed one of the universally acclaimed Hammers targets, according to responses from readers on our comments page.
According to teamtalk,com in their article today“Leading Southampton star wants OUT as West Ham battle Leeds, Crystal Palace” it seems the young talented midfielder has some pretty weighty admirers in Europe alongside his three premier League suitors.
Which means a likely five-way battle.
“West Ham, Leeds, and Palace are all in the mix but they face competition from top European clubs. The 21-year-old has interest from Juventus and Atletico Madrid and that could scupper the top-flight trio’s chances of landing him, though the Hammers are working hard on a potential deal…West Ham are pushing the most for Fernandes but have been given little encouragement in their pursuit by Southampton and, significantly at this stage, by Fernandes as he waits on continent clubs.”
And who can blame the young man, frankly. Juve, Madrid or West Ham.
The one ace up Graham Potter’s sleeve is that he could guarantee West Ham game time for the Southampton star, whereasbith the La Liga and Serie A sides will have players ahead of him, meaning he’s likely to sit out chunks of the season warming the bench. That and a Premier League pay package which is normally significantly higher than the Spanish or Italian leagues: Just ask Nayef Aguerd or Maxi Cornet.
If he goes abroad it will be for football reasons as Juventus and A Madrid cannot compete on wage front with ALL premier league clubs.
Are we after him? i doubt it he has no link to Salthouse and costs money so really another article that is rather pointless a bit like we will be come the end of August!