Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane has rated West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes as a better player than Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and several other high-profile Premier League midfielders.

Asked by The Overlap to pick the Portuguese international or Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, Manchester United’s Casemiro, Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Chelsea’s Fernandez, he chose the Hammers star every time.

It was only when Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva’s name came up that Keane decided to go with the 6x Premier League winner instead.

Considering the value of all of those players, especially Fernandez, who cost Chelsea £107m when he joined from Benfica at the beginning of 2023, it demonstrates what a big impression Fernandes has made in his first season at the London Stadium.

Will West Ham be able to keep hold of him?

The likes of Manchester City and Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Fernandes, while Chelsea have been tipped to make a move if Nuno Espirito Santo’s side suffer relegation.

However, reports suggest that the London club are determined to keep hold of the 21-year-old even if they do drop down to the Championship. It is up for debate, though, how realistic an ambition that actually is.

Fernandes will be pivotal in the final 6 games

Of course, for West Ham, any discussions about the player’s future will be put on the back burner until the end of the season. Nuno’s men are fully focused on keeping the Hammers in the Premier League.

Fernandes has been one of the standout performers, especially since the start of 2026, and if the club is to survive, his displays over the next six weeks will be crucial to keeping his team outside of the bottom three

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