West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes was a wanted man this summer and it seems like Tottenham Hotspur have won the race to sign the Portuguese prodigy.
Fernandes, 21, dazzled for the Hammers during the 2025-26 season but after they were relegated on the final day (with Spurs staying up instead) it always seemed likely he would be sold.
Linked with moves to Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and others this summer, reports from David Ornstein and the BBC both say that Spurs have won the race to sign Fernandes in a deal totaling $112 million.
How good is Mateus Fernandes? And how will he fit in at Spurs?
Fernandes is exactly the kind of energetic, all-action central midfielder who will thrive under Roberto De Zerbi at Spurs.
They have been crying out for a central midfielder like him to link midfield and attack and Fernandes has been consistently excellent in the Premier League for the last two years on very bad teams as he was relegated with both Southampton and West Ham in back-to-back campaigns.
This is big money for Spurs to spend, especially on top of the money already paid to sign center back Jan Paul van Hecke, but it makes sense. A huge overhaul is coming after they just escaped relegation last season.
With Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi signed on free transfers and Van Hecke confirmed and Fernandes coming in, Spurs will have a much more solid look to them next season.