It's not really been the summer West Ham United fans would've been hoping for at the end of last season.
The club have made a few good additions to the squad, including Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, and El Hadji Malick Diouf, but it doesn't feel like it.
Moreover, they've missed out on several targets over the last couple of months, such as Jacob Ramsey, which is always going to make morale worse.
Jacob-Ramsey-Jack-Harrison
However, it's not all doom and gloom, as if reports are to be believed, the Irons could be closing in on someone who'd be their own version of the former Aston Villa star.
West Ham close in on their own Ramsey
Talk of West Ham being seriously interested in Ramsey started to pop up around the start of the month; some reports even went as far as claiming that the Englishman was the Hammers' top target.
Unfortunately, Newcastle United stole a march on the East Londoners and secured the services of the talented midfielder for around £40m late last week.
However, things could be about to get a lot better for the Irons' faithful, as it now looks like the club are closing in on another exciting talent who has been compared to the new Toon star.
Jacob-Ramsey-Aston-Villa-Ollie-Watkins
At least that is according to a recent report from Jacob Steinberg, who has claimed that West Ham are still very interested in Mateus Fernandes.
In fact, he goes further than that, revealing that the club have now made an "improved offer" for the Southampton star.
It's unclear how much the bid was, but according to stories from earlier this window, around £50m should be enough to get the deal done, which might be fair value for a player of his quality, especially as he's been compared to Ramsey.
How Fernandes compares to Ramsey
In this instance, the comparison stems primarily from FBref, which looked at players in similar positions in the Premier League last season before concluding that Ramsey was the ninth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to Fernandes.
mateus-fernandes
The best way to gain a better understanding of how such a conclusion was reached is by taking a look under the hood, at the underlying numbers in which the pair ranked closest.
In this case, these include metrics such as expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, live passes, shot-creating actions, blocks, carries and more, all per 90.
Fernandes & Ramsey
Statistics per 90
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
Non-Penalty G+As
Expected Assists
Goals per Shot
Live Passes
Shot-Creating Actions
Blocks
Carries
Successful Take-Ons
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 PL Campaign
In other words, like the Englishman, the Portuguese maestro is an all-action midfielder who can impact the game in an attacking sense, while also being happy to chip in with some of the defensive work here and there.
Another trait the "outstanding" 21-year-old, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, shares with the former Villa ace is his versatility.
While he's primarily a central midfielder, he can still play in several other positions, which in turn would give Potter far more tactical flexibility before and during matches.
Ultimately, it won't be a cheap or easy transfer to get over the line, but Fernandes looks to be a special player, and therefore, West Ham should do what they can to bring him to the London Stadium.