West Ham newbie Mateus Fernandes reveals his 'idol' is £47m Premier League star

While Mateus Fernandes could make his West Ham United debut as early as Sunday against Nottingham Forest, the £40 million signing only has a couple of months to wait before he goes head-to-head with his idol.

Graham Potter welcomed Mateus Fernandes to the London Stadium on Friday morning.

Having succeeded in getting his transfer over the line before the 12pm cut-off point, West Ham United managed to register their new number 18 in time to make his first appearance back in the Premier League over at the City Ground.

Mateus Fernandes was likened to Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes by his former Estoril coach Vasco Seabra a year ago, before Southampton snapped up the Sporting Lisbon graduate for a bargain £15 million.

It is another former Sporting favourite who Fernandes idolises above all others, though.

And when West Ham make the trip to Old Trafford on December 3rd, expect to see the Portugal Under-21 international make a beeline for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes at full-time. Of all the shirts to add to his collection, this is one the East London newbie presumably wants the most.

Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images

West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes will meet ‘idol’ Bruno Fernandes in Manchester United clash

In a quickfire interview with West Ham’s in-house media channel, Fernandes was asked to provide a series of one-word answers to a collection of intriguing posers which should help the fans get to know their most-expensive summer signing a little better.

While highlighting his love of padel, reflecting fondly on his well-taken finish against Liverpool last season, and admitting his appreciation of Portuguese rapper Plutonio, Fernandes labelled his Manchester-based namesake – Bruno Fernandes – as his footballing idol.

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Provider of 62 goals and 51 assists in 197 Premier League appearances at United, Mateus will prove to be worth every single penny of that £40 million investment if he even comes close to replicating Bruno’s staggering return.

Fernandes scored only twice in his debut league campaign on English soil, including that aforementioned Liverpool strike during a five-goal thriller against Arne Slot’s side. He did finish top of the Southampton charts with four assists, however.

The best of a very, very bad lot at St Mary’s.

Fernandes says he will bring ‘intensity’ to Graham Potter’s side

When asked to describe his style of play in one word, meanwhile, Mateus Fernandes opted for ‘intensity’.

Considering that West Ham have been crying out for exactly that across three defeats so far, those driving runs and line-breaking passes will be a sight for extremely sore eyes.

Fernandes feels he is tailor-made for Graham Potter’s football, too.

“I think the main thing that stood out [when talking to Potter] was about the style of play,” Fernandes smiles. “I want to try to play football and enjoy football. I don’t want to just run and try to score, but to try and play good football. And I think West Ham is a good fit.

“I thought what the head coach told me about the project was fantastic. He showed me everything he wanted to do, which I really liked. So yeah, I’m very happy to be here.”

“Mateus is a young player who has made impressive progress in the early part of his career, and we are delighted to have secured his signing,” Potter added during Friday’s unveiling.

“He gained valuable experience in the Premier League last year with Southampton and is someone we really feel can help improve us and fit into what we are trying to build and develop at the club.

“We believe that his attributes and strengths will bring a different dimension to the squad. And, from speaking to him, I know that he can’t wait to get started here.”

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