Mateus Fernandes: The reasons why Manchester United and Europe's best are interested in a midfielder who has been relegated twice

Not many players get a big move after being relegated twice in their first two Premier League seasons. But Mateus Fernandes is still sought after.

Despite being part of one of the worst Premier League teams in Southampton two seasons ago, Fernandes still managed to secure a £38m move to West Ham. And even though he was relegated again, he continues to be linked with big teams.

Manchester United seem most interested in signing him this summer - and they know a thing or two about Portuguese talents called Fernandes. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have also been strongly linked with the Hammers midfielder.

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It's a strong midfield market this summer too. The likes of Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Sandro Tonali are among the many midfield maestros potentially available this summer.

If England midfielder Anderson is deemed the ideal central midfielder pick this summer, then Fernandes is not a bad back-up transfer target. The numbers spell that out pretty clearly.

Last season, Fernandes proved his status as one of the Premier League's toughest tacklers and it's a feature that stands out for those who know him.

"That's no surprise that his tackling stats are very high," Simon Rusk, who worked with Fernandes at Southampton, including via an interim head coach spell after the Saints' relegation, tells Sky Sports.

"Both speaking to him and observing him, I could see that would be a feature in his game - and a strength."

Alongside the tough-tackling nature is a lot of high-intensity running to get to the challenge in the first place.

Fernandes sits in the top 10 Premier League midfielders for distance covered. And again, it follows the same pattern: if Anderson is the best first-choice option on the market, then Fernandes is pretty much the next best option available.

It wasn't always the plan when Fernandes was signed by Southampton; he was seen by Russell Martin as a more advanced option.

"He was used as a little bit more as a No 10, a little bit more of an advanced role," he says. "But when I spoke to Matty through conversations with him, quite apparently, he saw himself as more of an all-round midfield player, more of a No 8.

"And that would lend himself to the defensive side of the game. What Matty wanted to do, he wanted to run. He wanted to be involved in the game as much as possible.

"But certainly, looking at his performances at West Ham this year, he certainly moved forward in terms of his game intelligence and mixed in with his strength, his tenacity and his engine."

West Ham noticed that desire for Fernandes to play slightly deeper too - using him mainly as a hybrid option between a No 6 and a No 8 in the season just gone.

Unfortunately for Fernandes, it has not quite worked out in terms of team success. Back-to-back relegations have tarnished the growing career of a promising midfield talent.

But despite the difficult contexts he's been trusted with, Fernandes has remained a positive influence on the dressing room wherever he has gone.

"He was a fantastic lad to work with," adds Rusk. "I think he was mentally tough, but he'd be hurt. I could see how much it hurt him, the relegation at Southampton.

"And I'm sure he'll be hurting again with being part of a relegation at West Ham. But, his character, he will use that as fuel.

"It will only make him a stronger, better player. It's not necessarily what happens to you, it's what meaning you apply to it. And I think for Matty, he's got a growth mindset.

"He's got an unbelievably excellent attitude towards becoming better. So he can only use this as being better."

All these attributes helped convince multiple managers - including Rusk, Russell Martin, Graham Potter and Nuno Espirito Santo - that Fernandes is a player worth sticking with, even at his tender age.

Since moving to the Premier League aged 19, Fernandes has started all but four of the top-flight games he's been available for. Two of those matches were his first two appearances in the competition, one was due to suspension and the other saw him score off the bench away at Leeds last season.

"You're looking at a 20-year-old, he's landed in the Premier League and plays week in, week out," says Rusk. "He's instantly gained the trust of everyone in the building.

"And one thing you can't underestimate as well with a young player, he moved to a new country, new environment, different language, the predominant language. And he was able to deal with all of those things and seamlessly become a regular starter in the Premier League.

"There was a level of maturity about him without any shadow of a doubt. Single-minded, but really good to work with - and very respectful. And all of those ingredients lend themselves to someone developing and becoming a better player."

What has helped Fernandes settle in is the player's ability to learn new information quickly - which will bode him well as he prepares for a third summer move in three years.

"I've worked with a lot of players where they've got an unbelievable raw talent, but maybe less coachable in terms of how they're willing to absorb information," says Rusk. "But Matty was, from that point of view, a dream to work with."

Rusk saw that firsthand during his time working with Fernandes at Southampton.

When the Saints visited Spurs in April 2025, Rusk - who was part of the Saints backroom staff at the time - worked with the midfielder for a couple of days on making late runs into the box, in a bid to stifle Ange Postecoglou's high line.

Fernandes ended up scoring in that game via a late run into the box. In a game remembered for Southampton suffering the earliest Premier League relegation in history, there were signs of a future gem in the works.

"The best players I've worked with, they learn quick. You tell them something and the penny drops quite quickly," Rusk says.

"And that Tottenham game, we only had a day or two working on the timing of his runs into the box and he arrived with a goal late with what we'd worked on.

"It was another bit of reinforcement where I thought: 'yeah, you've got a real chance of going on to great things here.'

"I've benchmarked it against a lot of the players that have gone on to playing right at the top of the game: international football, Champions League, Premier League football. They were very resilient, they were very single-minded and they learn quick. And I definitely put Matty in that bracket."

And speaking of goals, that is one area where Fernandes could improve. He got five goals and five assists for West Ham last season - which is not bad for a team who ended up being relegated.

But as Rusk says: "If he applies goals, then you're probably moving towards a complete midfielder." All of a sudden, the interest in Fernandes starts to make sense.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Mateus Fernandes: The reasons why Manchester United and Europe's best are interested in a midfielder who has been relegated twice