The £85million midfielder has been making himself at home at Tottenham Hotspur after his big transfer from West Ham United
Mateus Fernandes has explained why he chose the number 18 shirt after his Tottenham transfer and the goal celebration that he is hoping to show off at his new club.
The 21-year-old made the move this week from West Ham for a club record £85million, which will be smashed again when Spurs complete the £100million deal for Sandro Tonali's switch from Newcastle. Fernandes has already stated that Roberto De Zerbi was a key influence on his move across London and that he and the Italian head coach expect to be competing for titles at Tottenham.
The Portuguese midfielder will be wearing the number 18 shirt for the Lilywhites in the coming campaign after requesting it as part of his big money transfer, with the club making it happen for a number that was previously held by young South Korean winger Yang Min-hyeok, who is yet to play a competitive game for Spurs.
"When I left Portugal I chose the number 18 and then I did a good season. Last season I did a very good season so hopefully this season can be better than last season. This was the reason why I chose the number 18," Fernandes explained in a new behind-the-scenes video put out by the club of his signing day.
During that video, Spurs' team manager Allan Dixon could be seen welcoming the new arrival when his flight arrived at the airport while the club's CEO Vinai Venkatesham could also be seen at various points at Tottenham's Hotspur Way training complex in Enfield speaking to Fernandes.
When the midfielder asked where the team trains, Venkatesham took him through the first team reception area to show him and as they walked you could just make out a snippet of their chat, with the Spurs supremo saying "It takes too long. If I go to you know..." before the footage cuts away and Fernandes seeming to say 'yeah it's boring'.
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Fernandes was also asked about his celebration which has him holding two 'Ls' facing each other, looking like a 'W'.
"I did this for the first time when I was in Estoril in Portugal. This means my girlfriend, Lara, so I did the celebration for her," he said.
Also during the video, Fernandes admitted he didn't answer a call from Spurs defender Pedro Porro before he signed but later messaged him back. The two players both came through the Sporting academy at different times and played a couple of games together for the Portuguese side's first team when the midfielder was a teenager before the right-back left for north London.
"I spoke with Pedro Porro. I played with him at Sporting and he spoke about everything. He spoke about the manager, the mentality change in the group, the training ground, the stadium. Of course, London, it's a city that I know now, but he spoke about the city as well," he said.
"He told me many, many good things about the club, so I'm ready. I told him, 'I'm ready to fight for titles' and this is our way. Now, I try to do my best."