West Ham United know better than anyone that finishing bottom of the Premier League table does not necessarily a bad footballer make. See Mateus Fernandes; a £40 million revelation following his summer move from Southampton.
Newly-capped Portugal international Fernandes aced his London Stadium audition when West Ham slipped up at home to rock-bottom Southampton in April 2025.
Friday night’s clash between 18th place West Ham United and Wolves in 20th, therefore, offers certain members of Rob Edwards’ Championship-bound squad the chance to prove that they can ‘do a Mateus Fernandes‘ 12 months on.
Who could be 2026’s answer to Mateus Fernandes?
Here are five Wolverhampton Wanderers players who – some having already been linked with the Hammers – could be offered a Premier League lifeline in the coming months.
Andre Trindade
Wolves pulled off a coup when snapping up Andre Trindade from Fluminense for £21 million in the summer of 2024. West Ham talked to the 13-time Brazil international’s representatives as well, around the same time.
Still only 24, Andre’s best years should lie ahead of him. Boasting a pass completion rate of 90 per cent, the deep-lying playmaker is one of the most reliable distributors in the competition. West Ham have frequently struggled to maintain possession against better sides, meaning Andre’s press resistant qualities and varied passing range would come in very handy.
“You need to be athletic, you need to be connected with your midfield partner, you have to be able to handle the ball, and he does all those things in abundance,” former Wolves favourite Dave Edwards told the club’s official website last year.
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“He is one of the best number sixes in the league, there’s no doubt about that.”
Joao Gomes
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
If Andre is best as a number six, then fellow Brazilian Joao Gomes is at his most effective as a box-to-box number eight. It is not so long ago that Gomes was being talked about as one of the finest, most complete midfielders outside of the Premier League’s so-called ‘elite’.
The all-action 25-year-old has still shown flashes of that old buccaneering brilliance even in a disastrous campaign for the Molineux men.
Reportedly valued at £30 million and an occasional box-crasher, Gomes could be a long-term replacement for Tomas Soucek if he improves his goalscoring record.
Tolu Arokodare
West Ham were spooked by Wolves’ valuation of Jorgen Strand Larsen before Crystal Palace spent an eye-watering £48 million on the Norwegian in January. Arokodare, the sixth-tallest outfield player in the Premier League this season, is another towering, Molineux-based centre-forward likely to command plenty of interest.
Sorry Pablo, but this team (if fit) are beating Wolves 👍
Any changes?
A graphic showing West Ham United's ideal XI against Wolves.
Credit: GRV Media
OK, the giant Nigerian has only scored three times since joining from Genk in a deal worth £27 million. But, as Strand Larsen will tell you, quality service from wide areas has been at a premium over the last ten months.
West Ham have an ‘unbelievable’ crosser in El Hadji Malick Diouf. The thought of Diouf whipping those delicious deliveries onto the crowd-surfing head of Arokodare is a tantalising one.
Toti Gomes
Signing a left-footed centre-half who has worn the captain’s armband at Wolverhampton Wanderers? West Ham have been here before.
Max Kilman looks certain to leave, but the obvious similarities between he and Toti Gomes could make the signing of the latter a difficult prospect to stomach. Then again, with that logic, West Ham wouldn’t have snapped up Mateus Fernandes simply because James Ward-Prowse failed in the capital.
Capped twice by Portugal, Toti Gomes is a versatile defender capable of playing at centre-half and left-back, and in a back four or a back five.
“He has the physical attributes to play at Premier League level, no doubt,” former Wolves coach and ex-Hammer Gary O’Neil once said of Toti. “Quick enough, strong enough.
“The real trump card is, everything you give him, he will literally keep trying until you blow the whistle. He’s a great lad to have in the group, the lads love him, the coaching staff love him, and he’s one of them guys that you root for.”
Rodrigo Gomes
Andre, Rodrigo Gomes and Joao Gomes during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool - Premier League
Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
Toti’s namesake is one of the few players who will walk out the wreckage of relegation with his reputation enhanced. While still used as an impact sub more often than not, the quicksilver Rodrigo Gomes was responsible for two of Wolves’ three Premier League wins in 2025/26. He scored the equaliser in that stunning comeback victory over Liverpool, and wrapped up all three points against Midland rivals Aston Villa.
Only 22, the jet-heeled Portugal Under-21 international can play on either flank and in a variety of tactical systems.
West Ham signed Adama Traore – a former Wolves talisman – on a short-term deal until the end of the current campaign. Rodrigo Gomes could potentially play a similar, joker-in-the-pack sort of role, albeit with much greater room for improvement.
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