Nottingham Forest will go into Sunday’s clash against West Ham United with confidence, given their opponents’ start to the season, but the Hammers have just received a transfer boost.
The two sides are battling in the transfer window as West Ham made a move for Ibrahim Sangare, with Graham Potter’s side looking to recover from a disastrous start to their campaign.
Forest will only accept a permanent sale for Sangare, so the ball is in the Hammers’ court if they want to secure the services of a midfielder who has started both Premier League games for Nuno Espírito Santo so far.
However, it looks as if West Ham may have moved away from Sangare for now, with reports claiming that Potter’s side have agreed a fee for a former City Ground target.
West Ham agree a fee for Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes
Amid the Reds’ summer of signings, Forest held talks to sign Mateus Fernandes from Southampton after their relegation to the Championship.
The midfielder impressed in spite of Southampton’s poor season and Forest fans were excited about the Fernandes links, but according to Sky Sports, West Ham are set to sign the Portuguese midfielder.
The report said: “West Ham have agreed a £42m deal with Southampton for Mateus Fernandes. The fee is broken up into £38m guaranteed payment plus £4m in add-ons. A medical is already underway.”
Given that the medical is already underway, West Ham are clearly hoping to secure the 21-year-old before Friday’s squad registration deadline, allowing Fernandes to potentially feature at the City Ground on Sunday.
He’ll add a level of technical ability to the Hammers that could make the task harder for Forest on the weekend, but looking at the fee itself, the Reds may have dodged a bullet.
Nottingham Forest signed smarter Mateus Fernandes alternatives
Predominantly playing as an attacking midfielder but with the ability to drop deeper, Fernandes occupies areas of the Forest squad that are looking fairly stacked with talent.
Forest signed Douglas Luiz who will provide Premier League experience across the midfield, while James McAtee also arrived at Forest to cover the positions that Fernandes thrives in.
Crucially, though, McAtee only cost Forest £22m initially, making him £16m cheaper than the initial payment for Fernandes while having arguably greater experience at the top level in his time at Manchester City.
Overall, Fernandes would’ve been a quality addition at Forest and he’ll surely improve West Ham, but the Reds have recruited well enough to not worry about letting the Portuguese star slip away.
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