Exactly how worried should West Ham United be as French and European Champions Paris Saint-Germain take their first steps towards luring Mateus Fernandes to the Parc des Princes?
Well, for a start, the Hammers hold all the aces.
Mateus Fernandes joined the club from Southampton for a fee of £40 million less than 12 months ago. If he was worth that much after one hit-and-miss season which ended in relegation, then surely West Ham would be within their rights to ask for around £100 million as Fernandes forces his way into the Portugal picture while blossoming into one of the finest young midfielders in English and European football.
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The Sporting Lisbon graduate is also under contract until 2030. Provided they finish the right side of the dotted line, the Hammers would be under no immediate pressure to sell Fernandes this summer.
Then again, as was the case with Declan Rice back in 2023, there comes a time when a footballer with Champions League quality starts to receive offers from Champions League clubs. With Fernanes, that time could be coming around sooner than anyone in East London would have liked.
Paris Saint-Germain want West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes
French publication Foot Mercato reported on Wednesday that ‘contact has been established’ with Paris Saint-Germain already.
Those only on nodding terms with the European champions may be surprised to see PSG – so alligned with the most recognisable names in the game – take an interest in a 21-year-old who, for all his glaring talents, is not yet the finished article.
Well, to those, we recommend glancing through PSG’s business in recent transfer windows.
If adding an ageing Lionel Messi to Kylian Mbappe and Neymar was like smearing caviar and truffle onto an already sickly dish, the PSG side of Luis Enrique are a mean, lean, footballing machine; still made up of Michelin star ingredients, but with less of the fat or flamboyance.
Since hiring Luis Campos as their Football Advisor in 2022, the average age of PSG signings is just 21. It is hardly a coincidence that Mateus Fernandes is, yes, 21 years of age.
Gone are the Galacticos. In their place, a young, physical, mobile unit more suited to Luis Enrique’s demands and that of top-level European competition.
Luis Campos has made Paris the Portuguese place to be
“We don’t need more stars. We need players who respect the shirt, who respect the club and who give everything for the Paris Saint-Germain logo or shirt,” president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in 2024, shortly after Neymar, Messi, Gini Wijnaldum and Sergio Ramos had been replaced by Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves and William Pacho.
“We have changed a lot of things this year. The atmosphere is magnificent, the players fight together on the pitch for the shirt.
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“We have something different with Luis Enrique, who for me is the best coach in the world. He also has the philosophy of taking charge of young players. He likes young players and he doesn’t like old players!
“[Furthermore] Luis Campos has done a very good job. I think he is the best signing we have ever made.”
Foot Mercato point out that it was Campos who masterminded the signings of Portuguese quartet Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha and Joao Neves.
Mateus Fernandes made his Portugal debut in March. Expect to see him competing with Vitinha and Neves – who share his fearsome combination of physical and technical gifts – for much of the next decade. West Ham will be hoping that battle takes place solely on the international stage, of course.
But after PSG’s highly successful transition from football’s Harlem Globetrotters into the Chicago Bulls of the early-90s, Mateus Fernandes looks very much like a player who would slot seamlessly into Luis Enrique’s roster.
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