Carlos Soler did not provide many assists during his brief spell in the Premier League. The Spain international could yet assist West Ham United, though, in their attempts to keep Mateus Fernandes out of Paris Saint-Germain’s clutches.
According to reports out of France on Wednesday, PSG have ‘established contact’ with Fernandes, via their highly-respected Football Advisor Luis Campos.
The West Ham United playmaker has already been the subject of rumours linking him with Manchester United and Manchester City.
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But PSG, reigning European champions and home to some of Portugal’s brightest talents, may be another kettle of fish altogether.
The richest, most succulent steamed salmon, if you like.
PSG interest gives West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes a difficult decision
Unfortunately for the Hammers, Mateus Fernandes to PSG makes a lot of sense; both from a stylistic and cultural perspective.
Then again, one year after Fernandes stepped into a midfield void created by the departure of Carlos Soler, Nuno Espirito Santo could do worse than to present the latter as a cautionary tale as he looks to convince the former that the grass is not always greener elsewhere, even in the Eden-like fields of the Parc des Princes.
Soler started only 26 Ligue 1 games in two seasons in the French capital. He played a grand total of eight minutes as PSG reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2023/24. Eight of a potential 1,080.
During the summer in which Soler was farmed out on loan to West Ham – an opportunity the former Valencia captain grasped in a desperate attempt to regain some rhythm – PSG signed Joao Neves from Benfica. Their midfield is now even more stocked than ever before.
Mateus Fernandes could miss out on a World Cup spot this summer due to the presence of Neves and Vitinha in Portugal’s roster. The chances are that Fernandes would find himself warming the bench at PSG, too, at a moment in his career where regular minutes are crucial to his development.
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Carlos Soler struggled for regular starts at Paris Saint-Germain
“At PSG, I had a more secondary role,” Soler told Marca recently. It is only now, at recently-crowned Copa del Rey champions Real Sociedad, that the 29-year-old is playing with the sort of consistency he demonstrated with Valencia pre-2023/24.
“In the end, I wanted to leave Paris,” Soler said in another interview, this time with Relevo. “Nobody told me I had to leave; it’s because I wanted to gain minutes and confidence, to feel really important.
“I didn’t have the continuity that would have given me the confidence to show what I did at Valencia or with the national team. Perhaps it was this lack of continuity that prevented me from showing what I was capable of on the pitch.”
Eight years his junior, Mateus Fernandes arguably boasts a ceiling higher than Soler’s ever was, even in his box-crashing, armband-wearing Valencia heyday.
But, after 18 months of regular Premier League starts, a backseat role behind PSG’s established pair of princely Portuguese midfielders would potentially come at a very damaging moment in Fernandes’ young career.
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