Now that it’s closed, it would be fair to say West Ham United had a relatively good transfer window this summer.
They didn’t spend an egregious amount of money, and it took them a while to get going, but Graham Potter’s squad is now stronger than it was at the end of last season.
The pick of the signing might just be Mateus Fernandes, who enjoyed a strong first campaign (individually) in the Premier League with Southampton last year.
However, a player sold by David Moyes a few years ago is now being compared to the Portuguese ace.
Reviewing West Ham's transfer window
Alonfside Fernandes, West Ham made a number of exciting additions to Potter’s squad over the summer, such as El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The Senegalese international cost £19m from Czech outfit Slavia Prague, and while that’s no small amount, he’s already proving to be more than worth the outlay.
For example, he impressed in the pre-season, and then, in just three league appearances and one Carabao Cup game, he has racked up two assists from left-back and left wing-back.
On the other side, Kyle Walker-Peters has already shown why a number of teams were keen to sign him, as he’s already registered an assist in three appearances.
Even Callum Wilson, who was a signing that raised plenty of eyebrows, has started life in East London well enough, scoring a goal in the win over Nottingham Forest last week.
These three, plus the highly-rated Soungoutou Magassa and Fernandes, could end up looking like an excellent window come the end of the season.
Although as exciting as the Portuguese ace is, the club has already sold a player compared to him for a sizable loss in the past.
West Ham's original Fernandes
West Ham saw plenty of players come and go over Moyes’ two stints in the dugout, but in this instance, we are talking about Pablo Fornals.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
The Spanish midfielder joined the club in the summer of 2019 for a fee of around £24m and went on to make 203 appearances, totalling 12,221 minutes.
During his time in East London, the “unbelievable” midfielder, as dubbed by journalist Karl Matchett, would score 23 goals, provide 19 assists, play in the Europa League and be a part of the iconic Conference League-winning side under Moyes.
However, minutes were harder to come by in the 23/24 season, and when Real Betis came knocking in the January window, the Hammers were happy to let him leave for around £6.8m – a £17.2m loss.
With all that said, then, where does this comparison to the Irons’ new boy Fernandes come from?
Well, it stems from FBref, which determined that the Portuguese ace has been the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Spaniard across Europe’s top five leagues in the last 365 days.
We can gain a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by examining the underlying numbers in which the pair rank closely.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.25
0.22
Passing Accuracy
80.0%
80.1%
Expected Assists
0.14
0.11
Shots
1.13
1.32
Ball Recoveries
5.62
5.58
Carries into the Penalty Area
0.34
0.28
These include metrics like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, ball recoveries, carries into the penalty area, passing accuracy and more, all per 90.
In other words, the 29-year-old looks to be as creative when it comes to passing, and just as effective a carrier of the ball.
Ultimately, Fernandes should be an excellent signing for West Ham, and it’s probably a good sign that he’s as comparable to as big a fan favourite as Fornals.
