On what was his first appearance for West Ham United in August 2025, it did not take Mateus Fernandes long to showcase the talents which encouraged the Londoners to invest £40 million in his services.
Early on, at the start of a game the Hammers would win 3-0, Mateus Fernandes picked up possession inside his own half.
Under pressure from a couple of Nottingham Forest players, the former Southampton schemer drew them in and spun away with a shimmy, a shake, and a burst of acceleration.
What caught your eye as West Ham and Southend drew 1-1?
Who impressed you the most at Roots Hall?
The first tantalising glimpse into the rapid-fire footwork and turn of pace which would make West Ham home to one of the most ‘press-resistant’ midfielders in the whole of the Premier League.
Eleven months later, while West Ham United are still coming to terms with the idea of Fernandes strutting his stuff in the white of Tottenham Hotspur, Keiber Lamadrid used Roots Hall as the stage upon which to debut what was an at-times uncanny impression of the Portuguese playmaker.
Keiber Lamadrid impressive as West Ham United play out Southend draw
There was a moment, midway through the first-half, when Lamadrid turned on the ball, sent two Southend players for a proverbial hotdog, and spun away like Fernandes used to do in claret and blue.
We’ll be honest; when Hammers News looked through the line-up, we did not expect to see the Venezuela international line up alongside Mohamadou Kante in the centre of the park, with George Earthy wide on the left.
We certainly didn’t expect to see Lamadrid pick up possession so deep. At one point, he even dropped in to create a back-three when the Hammers had the ball.
Yet, despite alternating between a role of a quarterback and a number eight, Lamadrid also produced the best piece of attacking quality of any West Ham player until Jarrod Bowen’s corner was thumped home by Konstantinos Mavripanos one minute into first-half stoppage-time.
After Mavropanos and Bowen had combined to create a Taty Castellanos chance, the ball fell loose to Lamadrid on the edge of the box. He took a touch to settle himself and, with his second, fizzed a wicked volley against the Southend upright.
Could Lamadrid establish himself as a midfielder under Nuno Espirito Santo?
According to Alexis Jordan, the youth co-ordinator at his former club Deportivo la Guaira, Lamadrid ‘surprised’ the West Ham coaches with his fitness levels in the immediate aftermath of his January arrival.
He certainly surprised the fans when Lamadrid returned to pre-season bulked-up and broad-shouldered.
West Ham to hand Lamadrid a £20m release clause? Tell us what YOU make of this below 👇
Now, a central midfield performance full of purpose and poise from a footballer marketed as a maverick winger? It’s fair to say we should start expecting the unexpected with Keiber Lamadrid.
“Lamadrid looked really good,” one West Ham fan wrote on social media on a day of relatively few stand-out performances.
“Lamadrid looking to be a brilliant bit of business for £1 million if he gets the minutes in the tank.”
“Lamadrid looking good and playing like he wants to play this season.”
After one eye-catching display against Southend the first matchday of pre-season, no one will be silly enough to suggest West Ham have found the second-coming of Mateus Fernandes in a £1 million signing from Venezuela.
But then again, 24 hours earlier, none of us knew Keiber Lamadrid was capable of pulling the strings in midfield like he did at Roots Hall.
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