Very few players suffer back-to-back top-flight relegations, only to become one of the Premier League’s most expensive signings.
Yet that was how much Tottenham Hotspur — and particularly head coach Roberto De Zerbi — appreciate a player who was twice outstanding among his team-mates despite first Southampton’s and then West Ham United’s struggles to survive.
Spurs agreed a guaranteed £85million ($113.5m) deal with West Ham for Mateus Fernandes this week, meeting their east London rivals’ asking price for the most highly valued member of their squad.
They were far from the only admirers and, in a significant coup, won a race against Manchester United, who pushed hard to add the 21-year-old to their midfield rebuild but were not prepared to meet West Ham’s valuation.
As the Premier League season drew to a close and West Ham’s top-flight status appeared increasingly precarious, the club accepted that Fernandes would be sold to help fund their summer recruitment, whether they dropped into the Championship or not.
Paris Saint-Germain registered an interest and held talks but did not make an offer.
Fernandes was also raised as a potential target in internal meetings at Real Madrid. Fernandes and Jose Mourinho share an agency in Gestifute, led by Jorge Mendes. Yet as with PSG, Madrid did not formalise their interest with an approach.
Senior Madrid sources — who, like others in this article, remain anonymous to protect relationships — would later play down a move for Fernandes, or any midfielder, as the club are prioritising sales, believing they already have too many players in that position.
That left Fernandes likely to remain in the Premier League, with Manchester United’s interest initially the most advanced.
Manchester United elevated Fernandes to their priority midfield target towards the end of the season, once it became clear that Nottingham Forest’s demands for first-choice Elliot Anderson would be too steep and that his likely destination would be Manchester City.
In early June, Old Trafford’s leadership were reluctant to meet West Ham’s demands, but serious competition from north London made their hopes of reaching a compromise more challenging.
Tottenham’s awareness and interest in Fernandes dated back to his days in Sporting CP’s youth setup. Fernandes scored against Spurs in a UEFA Youth League fixture in September 2022, before making the second senior appearance of his career at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a second-half substitute in a 1-1 draw in the Champions League the following month.
Spurs continued to track him as he established himself in Sporting’s first team, and serious consideration was given to a move last summer following his impressive displays after joining Southampton.
According to one Tottenham source, De Zerbi’s admiration was key in advancing that interest and establishing Fernandes as a priority. Spurs have approached this summer window with a determination to back their head coach, and to be ruthless and decisive in their pursuit of targets.
Talks were mediated by Mendes, who acted on behalf of his client and as a broker in club-to-club negotiations with Tottenham and Manchester United, alongside his long-time associate Valdir Cardoso.
At Manchester United, director of football Jason Wilcox and director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves led the talks. Additional support, on the player’s side, came from their club captain.
Bruno Fernandes helped with attempts to persuade the 21-year-old that Old Trafford should be his next destination. When asked who his biggest idol is, Mateus Fernandes named the Manchester United captain in an Instagram post Spurs published on Thursday.
Despite that connection, Tottenham became increasingly confident of signing Mateus Fernandes after a meeting with West Ham officials last Saturday.
According to one source, Fernandes was convinced by Tottenham’s offer, believing he would play a significant role under De Zerbi, whose playing style could maximise his potential.
There is delight at Tottenham over what, alongside the £100m agreement for Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, represents a pair of significant coups.
Recruitment processes are described as clearer and more aligned following the departures of Daniel Levy, the former executive chairman who was deposed in September last year, and ex-managing director of football Fabio Paratici.
Carlos Raphael Moersen, Tottenham’s new director of football operations, is cited as a key influence on contracts and payment structures following his arrival from the City Football Group, Manchester City’s parent company, in January.
At Manchester United, there is surprise at Tottenham’s newfound ability to spend and compete at the highest end of the market. The Lewis family, the north London club’s majority owners, injected £100m to provide fresh working capital last month, following a previous £100m injection last October.
As talks entered the final stages, United were prepared to match West Ham’s demands through add-ons and there was some expectation United would close the deal this week, but they were ultimately unwilling to pay the asking price as a fixed fee.
As Spurs decisively closed the agreement with West Ham on Tuesday, some at Old Trafford felt they would have been outbid regardless of how much they offered.Personal terms had not been expected to be an issue for Manchester United, but Tottenham’s salary offer was also viewed as beyond what the Old Trafford hierarchy were willing to commit to.
Discipline has been the watchword during Manchester United’s dealings in the early weeks of this summer’s market, as chief executive Omar Berrada outlined in an end-of-season interview to United’s Inside Carrington podcast.
“It’s very important that you don’t let the market or the agents dictate what we should be doing,” he said.
As well as refusing to match Tottenham’s offer or West Ham’s demands, Manchester United say they never received clear indications that they would be Fernandes’ preference either.
That was in contrast to their targets last summer, when they saw off competition from Premier League rivals for their three marquee signings: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko all wanted to play at Old Trafford. Without that same, full commitment from Fernandes, United were reluctant to increase their offer to a level that could have found an agreement.
There is a belief at the London Stadium that Fernandes’ fee could have climbed even higher than £85m and that, had they avoided relegation to the Championship, an asking price of £100m would have been possible, with parallels drawn to City’s £116m deal for Anderson and Declan Rice’s £105m move to Arsenal in 2023.
Whether that would have been justified or not, for a player of considerable ability and potential, it is another indication of an inflationary market this summer – particularly for midfielders, and particularly within the Premier League.
In Madrid, time-honoured talk of the Premier League’s spending power now has a new element: ‘the £100m problem’, a phenomenon whereby, they believe, every young, talented player who makes a mark in the English top-flight sees their market value rapidly escalate up to and sometimes beyond nine figures, to a level where even European football’s grandest names struggle to find value.
There is no doubting either Fernandes’ ability or potential, however, which is precisely why West Ham felt able to demand the £85m they will receive, and why Tottenham were prepared to pay it.
Additional reporting: Jay Harris, Laurie Whitwell, Roshane Thomas, Guillermo Rai