By Louis Nixon

Mateus Fernandes is a player who, no matter what the result, has always impressed, and suddenly it’s becoming visible as to why numerous other clubs and Southampton fans so highly rated him. 

Against Brighton, he ended up being the highest-rated player on the pitch, ending the match with an 8.5 rating. His 23 defensive contributions aren’t a surprise considering he was absolutely everywhere, and no one could take his eye of the ball no matter how hard they tried. Unsurprisingly, his performance ranks asnthe highest number of duels won in a Premier League game this season

Out of his 17 duels throughout the game, he managed to win a total of 16, giving him a 94% success rate, which tends to be unheard of in the Premier League. Six passes into the final third and a 100% success rate for the dribbles he made goes to show how much he’s bolstered the Hammers’ midfield, and essentially, he’s glued himself into becoming a crucial player that’s vital in our midfield.

From tackles to creating chances, this Portuguese prospect has it all! It’s hard not to sit back and admire the frequent excellence of his performances he puts on because he’s such a talented player. 

Whilst little to no quotes have been made about his performance against Brighton, before the match, he spoke about the ‘turning point’ and where everything began to gel for not just himself but also as a team. 

“I think the Leeds United game was a turning point for us. We all spoke about many things about ourselves, about the team, and things we need to grow up and learn from. Since then, we’ve done very well.” – He’s certainly not wrong in all honesty, since the Leeds game, the Hammers have lost only one match in six, which was against the reigning Premier League Champions!

Despite Nuno managing to get the gears going in the team, finding out his midfield pairing was one of the most crucial parts to the success we’ve mustered up across the past few weeks and given our current circustances due to the difficulties we faced under Graham Potter, that form will have to continue if we want to be in a promising place come Christmas time.