Mateus Fernandes is driving West Ham to safety

Over the first half of the season, West Ham were in a dire situation. They were sitting in 18th with a -17 goal difference. Only the two teams below them in the table in Burnley and Wolves had an equal or worse goal difference at the time. The hiring of Nuno Espírito Santo didn’t initially lead to the famed new manager bounce, leaving them with an ever increasing feeling that years of mismanagement was finally catching up to them.

Ever since the calendar flipped to 2026, such angst has at least temporarily dissipated from the fanbase. West Ham have been comfortably mid-table with 18 points in 13 matches, playing at just under a 53 point pace over the course of an entire season. While they don’t have memorable wins over clubs closer to the top of the table, what’s gone differently has been their ability to get results versus those in the lower half. Their five victories have come against Tottenham, Sunderland, Burnley, Fulham, and Wolves. Compared to earlier in the season, they’re a much more spirited side, pivotal for their survival hopes.

There are several people you can give credit to for West Ham’s improvement in performances. Nuno himself deserves a bit of plaudits for once again getting a low-end Premier League side to perform solidly for a notable stretch. Jarrod Bowen has been racking up goals and assists, with 9 in total over his last 10 matches. Crysencio Summerville has also played solidly as well on the opposite flank, having scored 5 goals.

Someone else who deserves plaudits has been Mateus Fernandes. West Ham were hoping for such strong performances, given they paid a noteworthy fee to acquire him from Southampton (£38m + £3m in add-ons). He was one of the few bright points in the Saints’ relegation campaign, reflected in them making a significant profit on the £15m they paid Sporting CP two summers ago. In a chaotic season for West Ham, one of the few players they’ve been able to depend on throughout is Fernandes.

What’s been interesting with Fernandes this season is his usage. With Southampton, he played higher up the pitch as an all-action #8/10 hybrid. In comparison, he’s shifted more often into deeper areas to try and get him on the ball. It’s not surprising given how PL football is being played today. Often, you’ll see him retreat to the backline and form a situational back three. This helps platform his ability to spray long passes into the final third. He’s inside the top 20 for accurate long balls per 90 at just over a 63% success rate. The switches of play tend to have good weight to them, and he can be aggressive at trying to spray passes towards teammates on the flank to quicken transitions, which is key to how West Ham want to play. 

The positional tweak has also highlighted Fernandes’ comfort with utilizing either foot for forward passes when producing progressive passes. Partly due to the environment he’s in, he’s not had the same opportunities to rack up a ton of them. According to Statsbomb, he’s 29th among Premier League midfielders with 1200 or more minutes played in line breaking passes towards the opposition half per 90 minutes. Scout Lab has him in the 59th percentile for midfielders within the big 5 leagues for progressive passes. Something illustrative is that he's in the 80th percentile for share of a team’s progression upfield (progressive carries and passes, fields gained, and final third entries). He’s been the closest thing to West Ham’s quarterback going forward.

While this solid but perhaps unspectacular passing profile has been helpful on its own, it’s complemented further by Fernandes’ ability to be a jitterbug when carrying the ball. His change of pace over the first few yards is impressive for a midfielder and helps him get the advantage. He doesn’t seem to lose stride when sidestepping incoming opponents in a way that not many at his position can match. Even in difficult scenarios like 1v2s, he’ll try to battle his way through the double team to at least draw a foul. There’s never a hesitation in him trying to progress upfield, and at his best, he’s able to find teammates in stride as a passer. That kind of tempo shifting is invaluable across different tactical setups.

Compared to what Fernandes does in-possession, the out of possession work is something of a mixed bag. He tends to play a zonal role within West Ham’s defensive block. He’s okay at not being dragged out of position, but can be guilty of it occasionally. There could be greater diligence in terms of scanning and overall awareness to help block passing lanes towards the middle in West Ham’s own third. This would be helpful given he can’t necessarily fall back on his size to bail him out. In addition, he can be prone to being too flat-footed when defending, which leads to him trying to make up for it with uncontrolled rushes towards his nearest marker. Only six players in the league have committed more total fouls than Fernandes’ 44.

When attentive during the passage of play, his work-rate and burst off the mark can be helpful in turning defense into attack. An example of this which illustrates the upside Fernandes has as an all-around force was versus Wolves in their recent 4-0 victory. He traps the opposition in their own third before cleanly dispossessing and winning the ball back. From there, he’s got the awareness and technical capacity to make a delicate chip towards Summerville for a decent opportunity.

Fernandes has once again shown to be a helpful PL midfielder, which is not a small feat for someone in his early 20s. Compared to 2024-25 when he tried to impact matches in the final third, it’s been more often in earlier phases of play as a West Ham player this season. While he’s perhaps not shown to yet be an amazing distributor on the ball, he still provides some value there. The progressive carrying hasn’t been quite as electric compared to last season, but certainly above average. That kind of dual threat (even at a lower level) allows West Ham to funnel their ball progression towards him at a high amount. His defensive acumen is on less solid footing in comparison, due to issues concerning attentiveness and motor, which hinders potential star outcomes for himself. Although not flawless, what Fernandes has provided has been pivotal to West Ham’s resurgence during the 2nd half of the season.

It leaves West Ham in a much better position compared to a few months ago, where PL survival is in their hands. Opta projects their chances of relegation to be at 38%, compared to Spurs’ 51%. Imperative to finishing above the relegation zone will be continuing to get the early lead in matches, allowing the likes of Bowen and Summerville to attack space on the counter. Only Brentford and Liverpool have created more fast break opportunities, via Opta Analyst. They’re still not at the point where they’re controlling the share of shots and chance quality in their matches, but the underlyings have noticeably improved as the season has progressed. 

On the whole, West Ham’s 2025-26 season has been topsy-turvy, but they’re peaking at the right time. Nuno-ball has looked a lot more viable in recent matches, which is crucial since they’re not out of the woods yet with a tricky fixture list to conclude the season. Key to all of this has been the play of Mateus Fernandes, and his resilient ball progression in midfield. It’s made him one of the PL’s underrated performers, and should the Hammers survive the drop, his stature will only continue to grow in English football.

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