For the second summer in a row, a West Ham United player is leaving for Tottenham Hotspur; Mohammed Kudus in 2025, and Mateus Fernandes in 2026.
Ignoring the destination of both players, though, the differences between the Kudus deal and the deal that sees Fernandes become Spurs’ record signing could hardly be more stark.
Last summer, it was Daniel Levy doing the buying. And David Sullivan doing the selling. Hammers News were told that Sullivan ‘buckled’ as Levy got his man for £54.5 million. That was despite the then-West Ham United chairman initially demanding for in excess of £60 million for Mohammed Kudus.
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West Ham needed cash and quickly in order to finance a rebuild. El Hadji Malick Diouf and Mads Hermansen would arrive soon after, funded by Kudus’ departure, while Soungoutou Magassa and a certain Mateus Fernandes joined in August.
Levy had long since established his reputation as one of football’s most stubborn hagglers.
Twelve months later, with Levy no longer around to tighten the purse strings, the way Tottenham approached the Fernandes deal – – and West Ham, for that matter – could hardly have been more different.
West Ham United coax £85m out of Spurs for Mateus Fernandes
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky raised his stake to 43 per cent around the time of Sullivan’s resignation. In doing so, he invested £90 million into the coffers, thus easing the club’s financial concerns in the aftermath of relegation.
Kretinsky was always at pains to point out that West Ham wanted to keep their key players for an assault at the Championship title. Failing that, anyone who did leave would only go on the club’s terms.
Last summer, in the Kudus saga, Tottenham had a chairman desperate to drag down the price. Sullivan ‘buckled’ under the pressure. It became clear as the days progressed and the stand-off dragged on that Kretinsky was made of much sterner stuff.
The eventual agreement, coupled with Tottenham’s obvious desperation following successive 17th place finishes, means West Ham have banked £30 million more for Fernandes than they got out of Kudus.
And it is hard to imagine how the Hammers could have played this any better. Another slice of Jorge Mendes magic. Another mega-money transfer to come out of the super-agent’s Gestifute stable.
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Not once in this entire process did it feel like West Ham had even the slightest intention of blinking first and lowering their demands.
Safe in the knowledge that a post-Levy Tottenham were willing to pay whatever it took, West Ham waited patiently and eventually secured every single penny they initially demanded. Up-front as well, by the way.
For some in North London, that Spurs are now willing to go all-in – and occasionally well over the odds – for their top targets will be a refreshing change. If Spurs find themselves in the Championship come 2027 with an £85 million midfielder reportedly set to earn a staggering £250,000-a-week?
Well, maybe then Levy-nomics will start to look pretty sensible in hindsight.
For West Ham – while Southampton are due £12.75 million thanks to a 15 per cent sell-on clause – Fernandes’ sale leaves Nuno Espirito Santo with a war chest large enough to build a squad capable of securing an immediate return to the top-flight.
It is still extremely early days, but early fears that Kretinsky would continue where Sullivan left off should now be permanently dispelled.
And what would Daniel Levy make, you wonder, of Tottenham paying £85 million up-front for a midfielder twice relegated from the Premier League? A penny for his thoughts indeed. 8.5 billion pennies to West Ham.
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