West Ham's next 12 months could be defined by Mateus Fernandes situation

West Ham United are left sweating over Mateus Fernandes’ future this summer. 

The midfielder made the move from Southampton last summer and became a star in the Hammers’ midfield. 

Unfortunately, the Portuguese youngster would fall to the Championship for the second year running - sparking transfer interest once again. 

The Irons must raise upwards of £100million before they can really get building for the second tier, and Fernandes could go a long way to helping with this. 

The trouble is that the East Londoners must begin building now if they are to get fully prepared for their Championship return.

To do this, they ideally need Fernandes off the books sooner rather than later, with little time to prepare.

Who is in for Mateus Fernandes amid transfer talk?

Across the campaign, it is not often that the midfielder has let West Ham down. 

He has often been the main source of quality in the middle of the park, with his supreme technical ability and effectiveness from range being integral under Nuno.

Ultimately, though, this has not proven enough, with the Hammers now set for second-tier football.

As a result, both Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have registered their interest.

For West Ham, though, they will want to drive up the price tag as much as they can - something unaided by his lack of World Cup selection this summer.

And with the clock ticking ahead of the earlier Championship start, they are hoping that one of the clubs can begin to get serious in terms of sealing a deal, or the Irons could be left sleepwalking into the second tier.

When do West Ham return for pre-season?

As is always the case in English football, the Championship will start earlier than the Premier League.

This time, there will be a two-week gap between the start of both divisions, with the second tier set to open on Friday 14 August, and given West Ham's stature, it would not be a surprise to see them occupy that slot.

With the earlier start in mind, Nuno's side will return for training on Monday 6 July - 25 days from now.

Multiple may not be back given the ongoing World Cup, but it gives Nuno ample time to work with his squad.

The issue is that he cannot be left with a squad containing multiple players hanging on before their departures.

If Fernandes is not gone before then, he could be a part of this group, leaving the Hammers simply waiting to sell him, while the overall impacts this could have on the window could be huge.

Ideally, the Irons need a deal done soon, with a sale potentially definining how their transfer window goes, alongside the season itself.