By Louis Nixon

Mateus Fernandes didn’t only just impress yesterday, but he sent a message to the Footballing world and demonstrated how crucial he is to this West Ham side. 

Since signing for the Hammers, it’s been rare to see Fernandes not perform in a world class standard, he’s a very consistent player who seems to be able to be adapted to any role that he’s included in, which has been shown in these past three games considering that he’s had to take up Paqueta’s role whilst also still being his own player, which he’s managed to do to an excellent level. 

Many would’ve noticed that Fernandes has begun to work in a midfield of two, that being him and Tomas Soucek. The utilisation of Soucek provides us with leadership in the pitch, but it also gives Fernandes total reassurance that Soucek will pick up any loose balls, essentially giving Fernandes more freedom. 

He’s able to roam freely, pick out a pass and then run, it’s certainly no surprise that both he and Soucek ran the most on the pitch yesterday, both reaching over 10km. 

In the event that Soucek does make a mistake, Fernandes is there to pick it up, as his 9 defensive contributions would prove. If there was an attacking opportunity, he would be there. For his absolutely wonderful strike, you’ll notice that the initial pass which spiked the attack was played by him whilst at left back! He knows how to get into the right positions at the right times and it’s superb for us. 

Not to mention, in addition to his stunning strike, he also nearly made it two at the end of the game, but he’d blaze the bar from outside the box. 

Fortunately for us, he’s a player who doesn’t rely entirely on confidence, but he certainly moves up a step once he has it, as all world-class players do. He’s a brilliant footballer and long may it continue because at the moment he’s a mesmerising midfielder to watch.