Southampton were forced into selling Mateus Fernandes towards the end of the 2025 summer transfer window, as their star player pushed for a move in search of a place in Portugal’s World Cup squad.
Despite missing out on the eventual 26-man squad for his nation, Fernandes shone in the Premier League once again and was nominated for the Young Player of the Season.
Fernandes has now made his next move, this time early on in the transfer window. After Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur fought it out for his signature, West Ham stood firm, and their £85 million valuation was met.Â
Southampton are set to receive a considerable sum of this transfer fee, which has already covered one of their summer transfers.
Fernandes makes his move
After weeks of speculation, it was Tottenham Hotspur who chose to meet West Ham United’s £85 million asking price for Mateus Fernandes.
The 21-year-old, who won Southampton’s Fans’ Player of the Season in 2024/25 despite a miserable 12-point Premier League campaign, played 46 games for the Saints, scoring four goals.
Upon signing Fernandes, who everybody at St Mary’s saw had the potential to make it to the top, Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said, "I've admired Mateus for a long time because he combines quality on the ball with the intensity and intelligence that are so important in the way we want to play.
"Despite his age, he already has good experience in the Premier League and has shown quality and consistency at this level.
"Mateus is comfortable under pressure, can progress the ball, works hard for the team and has the courage to make things happen in difficult moments. I believe this is the ideal environment for him to continue his development."
West Ham have sold Fernandes for a profit of £43 million, doubling his transfer fee in just a year. Southampton are set to receive 15% of this profit after inserting a clause in the deal when he was sold.
Southampton to receive fee
The Saints will receive a fee around the figure of £6.45 million - 15% of West Ham’s profit from the £85 million deal.
It’s a sizeable windfall, and almost completely covers the recent £6.5 million signing of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz for Southampton.Â
It means the club’s net spend so far this summer sits at around -£2.55 million. Without yet weakening their squad through sales, it’s excellent business to start their window off with.
With Southampton players set to return to Staplewood for pre-season, the state of the squad looks good. Dragan Solak has admitted that the Saints want to recruit by replacing outgoing players.
At the moment, that means they’ll be in for a Ross Stewart replacement and a player to support Finn Azaz in attack.
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