It is becoming clear that West Ham United bagged a stellar bargain last August: Whether Graham Potter, Kyle Macaulay or Max Hahn was responsible for identifying the qualities of **Mateus Fernandes** and convincing David Sullivan to part with a Max Kilman-esque forty million for the Portuguese u21 captain’s signature, credit where it is due.
West Ham signed a superstar in the making.
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The fact that **Lucas Paquetá**, once hailed as West Ham’s most valuable, best creative player, has been missed not one bit is testimony to the huge talent and superb attitude of West Ham’s newest play maker.
Once again, even in a gritty 0 – 0 draw against Bournemouth , Fernandes excelled and finds himself yet again rated number one in the [wonderkid power rankings,](https://www.3addedminutes.com/sport/football/west-ham-united/wonderkid-power-rankings-best-young-players-premier-league-manchester-united-newcastle-5609469) the weekly hit parade that ranks the Premier League’s stellar young talents:
“_Fernandes’ form over the last month or two has simply been so strong and so consistent that he deserves a record-breaking sixth week with the crown._
Fernandes – still top of the wonderkid rankings
_He remained at his exceptional best in an otherwise dreary match against Bournemouth, winning all five of his attempted tackles and forcing eight turnovers off the ball (a record any defensive midfielder should be proud of and which Fernandes equals on a weekly basis) and created two shooting chances up the other end. The goals and assists may not have been there this time, but the Portuguese youngster remains one of the most reliable engines of any midfield in the Premier League.”_
And as anyone who’s watched him regularly will know, there’s much more yet to come. Keeping hold of him will be possible only if the Hammers can retain their Premier League status but Fernandes is doing his best to make that happen: Upbeat to the end, the Youngster is quite confident about taking on the Premier League’s biggest chalet – a win away at Anfield:
“_We will play for the win, for the three points. Of course there are very good players there. We have our strength and we try to build on the things we can control, so we focus on our team, our things, and we believe we can win there.”_
And nobody doubts his sincerity.