Southampton fans will be over the moon with how their side has done this Championship season, even if their achievement in reaching the second-tier playoff final has now been dampened by Spygate emerging.
The end of last season saw the Saints slip down to the EFL's elite league after finishing rock bottom of the entire Premier League, so it's remarkable that they've been so headstrong under Tonda Eckert, when they were so easily beatable and mentally fragile in the top-flight.
One rare bright spark last campaign, when relegation down to the Championship came as no surprise, was Mateus Fernandes, who would more than justify a move to West Ham United, off the back of such a promising debut season in England.
Fernandes' promising performances for Southampton
While signings such as Ben Brereton Diaz and Aaron Ramsdale both fell flat, arguably, picking up the services of Sporting midfielder Fernandes was a masterstroke hidden in all the big spending.
Costing £15m to tempt away from Portugal, Fernandes would go down as an instant hit in his new South Coast location, with two goals and four assists collected in Premier League action, making him stand out as a forward-thinking midfield talent.
Averaging a tenacious 5.8 duels won per Premier League contest, too, it wasn't a shock at the end of the season, when relegation was depressingly confifmed, that the likes of West Ham United were sniffing around.
Offloading the 21-year-old star to the Hammers for around £38m, Russell Martin and Co. were right to gamble on the rising Liga Portugal talent to come good in the punishing Premier League.
Right now, however, selling him for £38m feels like the playoff finalists didn't drain West Ham dry, with an outrageous new valuation next to his name, after another stellar top-flight campaign for a relegation-threatened team.
Fernandes' new rumoured valuation
Fernandes must be experiencing deja vu right now, as he begins to be linked to a whole host of clubs in the Premier League, again, while his current employers look set for relegation to the Championship.
Indeed, unless a miracle happens, Nuno Espirto Santo's side look set to play in the EFL for the first time since 2012, meaning the door swings back open for the Portuguese ace to move to another top-flight home.
Picking up a further six goal contributions this season, playing at the London Stadium, alongside averaging 5.5 duels won to keep up his mean streak in midfield, the likes of Manchester United are reportedly keen as they hunt down a long-term successor to Casemiro.
🚨 West Ham United want a fee of £84M from clubs looking to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) May 11, 2026
This works out as 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 what they paid to sign him from Southampton last summer.
(Source: Football Insider) pic.twitter.com/fqCwj1pkaN
Fernandes could be their man, with reports stating that the one-time Portugal international could move to Old Trafford for a mind-blowing £84m, just two summer transfer windows on from only costing the Saints a meagre £15m.
It's been a stunning rise for Fernandes, but back at St. Mary's, Eckert's men haven't been riddled with grief about losing the 21-year-old. Rather, the likes of Flynn Downes, Shea Charles, and Caspar Jander have made the loss of the 5-foot-10 star feel bearable.
Southampton is only one match away from reaching the big time, again, with Fernandes potentially paying his ex-side next season, as a talent worth a whopping £84m.
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