Two big-money Premier League midfielders, and two very different weekends in the careers of West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes and the man the Londoners might have snapped up instead.
Suddenly, the gap between the Hammers and Newcastle stands at just two points.
A six-point swing over the last week, started by West Ham United’s 3-1 comeback victory over Eddie Howe’s slipping side, and exacerbated within the space of 24 hours on matchday eleven. The Hammers drew level with Burnley as Mateus Fernandes ran the show from the centre of the park.
Eight miles west, Newcastle – and Jacob Ramsey – suffered an almost play-by-play repeat of their East London reverse. A first-half opener giving way to a self-imposed implosion.
As for Ramsey, another forgettable afternoon for the £40 million signing from Aston Villa. As the gap between West Ham and Newcastle closed again, a chasm opened up between the respective impacts made by he and Mateus Fernandes.
West Ham United v Burnley - Premier League
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mateus Fernandes thrives at West Ham United while Jacob Ramsey struggles at Newcastle
West Ham had discussions regarding Jacob Ramsey over the summer.
Any frustration felt at the London Stadium when he opted for Newcastle was eased, just twelve days later, when Fernandes completed his own eye-watering transfer.
Howe would highlight Ramsey’s ‘versatility and directness’ as key reasons why Newcastle opted to offer the Aston Villa academy graduate a fresh start. Had Nuno Espirito Santo been in the West Ham dugout at the time – Graham Potter welcomed Fernandes to the capital instead – one presumes he would have made similar comments.
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Nuno highlighted the Portugal Under-21 captain’s flexibility himself, of course, two months later. West Ham have ‘something special’ he said. Comments which felt especially prescient during those electrifying displays against both Burney and Ramsey’s Newcastle.
“[Fernandes can] improve as a player, become a more mature person. We have something special there,” Nuno told DAZN Portugal.
“I see that he has the capacity, the versatility of actually occupying several positions on the field. I believe that he can play inside, he can play on the outside, he can play, if we want, as a ‘ten’ or play as a ‘six’.
“He has that ability.”
Mateus Fernandes was ‘sensational’ against Burnley
An ‘ability’ the former Southampton and Sporting Lisbon dynamo demonstrated during what was his stand-out performance since that £40 million transfer. The ‘sensational’ Mateus Fernandes has come a long way since being benched for the 2-1 defeat by Leeds a fortnight ago.
Ironically enough, had Ramsey not jumped at the chance to join Newcastle instead, he might be wearing claret and blue now instead.
It is not entirely clear whether Fernandes had been identified at West Ham as a direct alternative to Ramsey, but the similarities both midfielders share in terms of their adaptability and their ball-carrying, box-to-box dynamism certainly suggests that it was probably a case of one or the other.
Limited to just one Premier League start in Newcastle colours due to a reoccurrence of the injury issues which stalled his progress over the last two seasons, the contrast between Ramsey’s start on Tyneside and Fernandes’ in East London suggests that it is West Ham who will see greater returns on their £40 million investment.
“Coming to a new club, the last thing you want is pick up an injury early,” Howe said back in October after Ramsey missed seven Newcastle outings due to an ankle issue.
“You want to show your qualities and what you can bring to the team. So, he has had a period away, worked hard, come back now to full fitness. I’ve been impressed. I still feel there’s so much more to come both physically and technically because I think he’s got outstanding technical qualities.”
West Ham may have dodged a £40 million bullet
Those qualities are undoubted. Former Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard called Ramsey a ‘terrific’ talent with the ability to go all the way to the very top. But it has been nearly two-and-a-half years now since that breakout 2022/23 campaign in which Ramsey scored six and assisted seven top-flight goals.
In his final two seasons at Villa, Ramsey managed only six goal contributions in 27 starts. Now, West Ham certainly took a risk when they invested such a hefty sum in a young midfielder who had just suffered relegation in his one and only Premier League campaign.
But to describe Ramsey as a more low-risk, high-reward option would be to ignore the drawbacks that are now staring Newcastle in the face.
West Ham paid £40 million for a relatively unproven talent, yes. But a 21-year-old with oodles of self-confidence and so much time on his side. Not to mention, an unblemished fitness record.
Ramsey, in contrast, is three years older and has missed 50 more games through injury since the start of 2023/24.
Howe may claim that Ramsey is edging back towards his best form but, in a weekend in which Mateus Fernandes proved his ‘ultimate Premier League midfielder’ credentials, an ineffective showing during Newcastle’s 3-1 loss at Brentford only added to the feeling that West Ham are moving in a different direction, and also landed themselves the better deal.
“[Ramsey] got caught in possession early in the second half, which set the tone for how the half would pan out,” NUFC Blog wrote while handing Newcastle’s number 41 a match rating of just 4/10. “Yet to really show what he can do and needs a breakout performance quickly.”
Stats site Fbref, funnily enough, name none other than Mateus Fernandes as the player with whom Jacob Ramsey shares the most in common. They certainly possess similar skill-sets, similarly line-breaking qualities, and similar price-tags.
But, as of right now, that is where the similarities end.