Tottenham Hotspur have expressed interest in signing West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes this summer, according to David Ornstein.
Fernandes has emerged as one of the most sought-after players in the ongoing summer transfer window following his eye-catching displays for West Ham in the recently concluded season.
The 21-year-old first arrived in England as a relatively unknown player from Sporting. He took no time to stamp his foot at Southampton before joining West Ham last season after the Saints were relegated.
Now, for a second successive season, Fernandes’ club have suffered relegation, and there’s a strong possibility he could move to another club next season.
He has been heavily linked with several clubs, with reports via Football Talk reporting last week that Manchester United have opened talks to sign Fernandes.
The latest club to enter the race for the midfielder is Tottenham, as per David Ornstein, who claims that the north London club have expressed interest in signing the 21-year-old.
In recent days, Football Talk, citing Fabrizio Romano, reported that Tottenham have also entered the race to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Bold swoop
However, Ornstein clarifies that their pursuit of Fernandes is not expected to hinder Tonali’s chase, with the club’s boss Roberto De Zerbi ‘pushing’ the club to sign both midfielders.
However, with a contract until 2030 and keen interest from several clubs, West Ham are expected to demand a steep fee, and it’s no surprise that Ornstein, writing on The Athletic, reveals the Hammers have set an £80m valuation on the Portuguese international.
Tottenham were outrun, outscored and largely outperformed for most of last season. Hence, their pursuit of more experienced, tenacious players shows their commitment to raising the team’s performance in the coming season, where they’re set to face Brentford in the opening game.
So far, they have secured free transfers of Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth and Andy Robertson from Liverpool, while Jan Paul van Hecke has also been confirmed to be joining from Brighton and Hove Albion.
Fernandes would be a shrewd addition to De Zerbi’s squad, bringing the much-needed combativeness in pressing, winning duels and recoveries, as evidenced by his 5.98 tackles, 5.46 ball recoveries and an eye-catching 10.95 defensive contributions per game last season.
With Man Utd also keen, it’ll be interesting to see how the transfer plays out over the next two months until the transfer window closes.
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