Credit: Imago

James Barker

Tue 24 March 2026 7:10, UK

Mateus Fernandes has been excellent for West Ham United in his debut season, after completing an initial £38million move from Southampton last August.

The 21-year-old central midfielder was probably Southampton’s best player during their dismal 2024-25 season, which saw them relegated to the Championship after winning just 12 points.

Despite that, Fernandes played 36 times for Saints in the top flight last term, and stood out pretty much every week as being a player that clearly didn’t deserve to be in that situation.

As such, it was no surprise to see his signature being a highly-coveted one in this season’s summer window, but it was West Ham who won the race for him.

Forking out an initial £38m to bring him to the London Stadium, West Ham will be absolutely delighted with that piece of transfer business so far.

Mateus Fernandes worth £1.3m per West Ham league appearance

West Ham will be fearful of losing Fernandes this summer, regardless of whether they end up in the Championship or keeping their place in the Premier League.

The Portuguese youth international has once again proven himself to be a classy operator in the top flight, and at just 21-years old, he’s got a very bright future ahead of him.

He’s started 28 of the 29 Premier League games he’s appeared in for West Ham so far in 2025-26, establishing himself as an integral part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

So, going off the initial fee of £38m he was signed for last summer, combined with his 29 league appearances, that means West Ham have paid £1.3m per league outing for Fernandes this term.

That might sound a lot of money, and it is, but if the Hammers stay up this season, Fernandes will have been essential to that success, and will be worth every penny as such.

Fernandes could be West Ham’s biggest regret if relegated

If the worst should happen to West Ham this season, and Championship football is on the agenda for 2026-27, then Fernandes will be almost certain to leave.

He’s shown that he’s a quality player at Premier League level, and there will be absolutely no shortage of interest from top clubs looking to steal him away from the prospect of second tier service.

In truth, Fernandes is simply too good to play Championship football, and looks every bit of a midfielder who will be right at the top of the game come his prime years in a few seasons’ time.

So, among what will be a myriad of regrets if relegation arrives for the Hammers, seeing Fernandes only turn out for them for one season might just be their biggest.

They’ve seen the best of Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos respectively, but Fernandes might just have the biggest and best career out of all of those, and could bankroll West Ham in the near future if they can just keep hold of him.