**West Ham United have seen a bid for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes turned down.**
According to [The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6548731/2025/08/12/west-ham-transfers-mateus-fernandes/), the Hammers tabled an opening offer worth up to £30 million plus add-ons, but Southampton rejected it without hesitation.
Both clubs are far apart in their valuations. While West Ham value the midfielder at a figure around their opening bid, Southampton believe he’s worth a lot more.
The Saints reportedly rebuffed West Ham’s bid without even offering a counter-proposal.
Southampton see Fernandes as one of their most valuable assets and rate him on a similar level to former midfielder Romeo Lavia, who joined Chelsea in 2023 for £58m.
The Championship side have made it clear that they’d only return to the negotiating table if West Ham or any other interested club approach them with a figure closer to their valuation.
Fernandes has four years left on his contract at Saints, having only joined the club at the start of last season in a deal that set them back around £13m.
He has quickly developed into a key figure in the squad and was a bright spark for the club in the midst of their woeful Premier League cameo.
Fernandes made 42 appearances for Southampton last season, notching three goals and six assists before the club was relegated back to the Championship.
He only missed two Premier League games and racked up one of the highest amounts of top-flight minutes among players under the age of 21.
He made his first appearance of the new campaign as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s 2-1 Championship win over Wrexham as the Saints got their promotion push off to a strong start.
West Ham manager Graham Potter wants to rebuild his midfield, and Fernandes is a key target if he’s going to accomplish that goal.
The Hammers have already brought in [El Hadji Malick Diouf](https://westhamblog.co.uk/posts/el-hadji-malick-diouf-what-west-ham-can-expect-from-19m-signing/), Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Callum Wilson while making Jean-Clair Todibo’s loan move permanent.
But there’s still plenty of work to be done before they can fully be prepared for the season.