By Louis Nixon

Since Nuno’s managed to find the heart of the Hammers’ midfield, Fernandes has excelled to heights fans didn’t expect and considering his success, he might be considered the player to build around for the future. 

After some trial and error, Nuno managed to find his ‘dream midfield’, which consisted of two DM’s in Fernandes and Potts, along with Paqueta in the attacking role, and that was the exact midfield which provided the Hammers with their second win of the season, which was against Newcastle.

Since then, the Hammers have only gone on to lose one game in the last six, which was against the reigning Premier League champions. 

Across our success, the midfield has been the heart of the team and Fernandes has managed to excel to height that many didn’t believe he could reach, persistently across all matches he’s been successful and always has a stand-out game.

Whereas, despite being crucial for us, Paqueta has had his let-down moments, such as the game against Liverpool where he got the red, a rather selfish action, letting his teammates down in what was a game we still could’ve got something out of.

Given the countless rumours regarding Paqueta leaving, as well as Fernandes’ age in comparison to his, it feels that we might have to consider the Portuguese international to become the heart of the team and something to build around for the remainder of the season, as well as next summer and beyond.

Fernandes also provides an element of versatility, seeing as he plays his role in the 8, but can also play in the 10, which tends to be why you often see him everywhere across the pitch. 

He’s a talented 21-year-old who’s got the world ahead of him if he stays out of trouble and continues to provide the performances that he’s having. West Ham are lucky to have their hands on a player of his calibre, and it would be a waste not to build around someone of his capabilities.