You won’t see Vinicius Junior and West Ham United sharing the same column inches very often. Well, apart from maybe when Mateus Fernandes was linked with a move to Real Madrid last month.
Jose Mourinho was reportedly keen to take Fernandes to the Santiago Bernabeu, and position him as one of the three central midfielders behind Los Blancos’ superstar-studded frontline.
On Tuesday afternoon, though, it emerged that Tottenham Hotspur have won the race for the £85 million Portugal international. So with Mateus Fernandes instead making the short trip across London, the last player to leave West Ham United for Real Madrid is – and will remain – none other than Julian Faubert.
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It is not as if the 15-time European champions are likely to join the queue for Crysencio Summerville’s signature either. Vinicius Junior has that position under lock and key at the Bernabeu.
Speaking of Real’s brilliant, buccaneering Brazilian, the CIES Football Observatory believe that there are a lot of similarities between Vini and Nestory Irankunda; the Watford and Australia speedster who could potentially become one of the players West Ham pursue with their £85 million windfall.
West Ham United target Nestory Irankunda is very similar to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr
Swiss-based stats specialists CIES performed a deep dive into all things Irankunda this week.
While he tends to play on the opposite flank to Real Madrid’s number seven – Watford used him mostly as a right-winger or central attacker – CIES have crunched the numbers and found that Irankunda goes about his business in a very similar manner to Vini Jr.
One-time Bayern Munich starlet Irankunda is known for his pace, first and foremost. His top speed exceeded that of even Alphonso Davis at Bayern, not to mention over footballing speed demons like Kyle Walker.
But there is more to him than his fearsome acceleration.
CIES also rank Irankunda inside the 91st percentile when it comes to shots per game, inside the 96th percentile for successful dribbles, the 90th for progressive carries, and the 89th for key passes. Numbers which see Irankunda placed alongside similarly shot-heavy, uber-ambitious, dribbly forwards such as Vinicius Jr, Atalanta’s Kamaldeen Sulemana, and £35 million Liverpool newbie Victor Munoz.
Watford and Australia star would bring fearsome pace to West Ham
Vince Rugari, a reporter for the The Sydney Morning Herald, claimed the West Ham are showing interest in Irankunda shortly after the 20-year-old opened Australia’s account at the 2026 World Cup.
There were obvious parallels to Vini Jr in how Irankunda put the Socceroos ahead in last month’s 2-0 win over Turkey. A burst of blistering pace, a gorgeous first touch to take it inside onto his right foot, and a cool finish to bamboozle an unsuspecting goalkeeper.
‘Exhilarating, unpredictable and audacious’ is how Rugari describes a player who joined Watford in 2025 after a brief spell in the Bayern Munich youth team.
“[It] doesn’t matter what level of football you’re playing,” former Australia coach Ange Postecoglou told ITV Sport following Irankunda’s sumptuous solo effort against Turkey; the proverbial ‘dark horses’ taking another trip to the glue factory.
“If you have this kind of speed, you’re always going to be a threat.”
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What really sets Vinicius Jr apart from the mere mortals is a ruthless streak he has developed during more than half a decade as Real Madrid’s go-to left-winger.
Vini has shattered the 20-goal barrier in each of the last five seasons. Irankunda, in contrast, scored only four times during his debut season at Watford.
That he underperformed his ‘expected goals’ numbers – while rattling home a pair of long-range free-kicks – rather sums up an attacker who tends to make the sublime look routine but the easy look difficult.
But having celebrated his 20th birthday as recently as February, West Ham are interested not in what Irankunda is today but what he could become with a couple of years’ development under his belt.
Clearly, as those statistical similarities with Vinicius Jr show, Irankunda has the raw ingredients to become a Michelin star footballer.
“Just incredible,” Aussie pundit Andy Harper said as the West Ham-linked Watford whizzkid sunk his teeth into some Turkish delight on the global stage.
“Once Irankunda has got that ball, there is not a person on God’s earth who is going to stop him. He is made of TNT. There are few players on the planet like Nestory.
“He is uncontainable in this mood.”
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