Tottenham are back in form and one player in particular caught the eye in their latest match and might have one club in Manchester watching on enviously
Mateus Fernandes, Dominic Solanke and Mathys Tel celebrate after Mike Penders scores an own goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge
Mateus Fernandes, Dominic Solanke and Mathys Tel celebrate after Mike Penders scores an own goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge
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Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United should have pushed harder for Tottenham midfielder Mateus Fernandes in the summer.
Spurs signed the Portuguese in an £85million transfer from West Ham early in the summer window and saw off interest from United in the now 22-year-old central midfielder. Sources around the Manchester outfit claimed they were not willing to reach the financial levels that the north London side were while Fernandes made it clear that he wanted the move to link up with Roberto De Zerbi.
Despite his new head coach claiming he was going to become one of the best players at the club, Fernandes' early months of the season at Spurs mainly saw him used from the bench or when he did start it was in a number 10 role, which did not get the best out of his abilities.
However, De Zerbi gave the midfielder, who became a father this month, his fourth Premier League start of the season in his favoured deeper role against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night and the Portugal U21 international dominated the 2-0 win for Spurs.
Fernandes topped the stats from both sides with the most touches (121), most passes completed (91 from 99), most passes in final third (16), most tackles (5), most chances created (2) and triumphed in six duels and won possession six times. He led the way on the pitch with 14 defensive contributions, Tonali coming in with 12 and Mohammed Kudus with 11.
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The midfielder also swung in the corner that Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders punched over his own goal line under pressure from Jan Paul van Hecke to open the scoring.
Carragher was happy to finally see the version of Fernandes he thought Spurs were getting and could not believe that United did not push more strongly for him.
"I’m a big fan of Fernandes. He hadn’t started the season well. I didn’t understand why the manager was playing him in the number 10 role. Then sometimes he wasn’t playing, but I watched him for West Ham United a few times last season, and I thought he was a player," said the former Liverpool defender on The Overlap Fan Debate, sponsored by Sky Bet.
"He was the one I think Manchester United should have just gone for. I know they brought three in. They should have just brought two, and he was one of them. He was young, plenty of time to improve. He looked class for West Ham last season, and that was the first time I’ve seen him in a Tottenham shirt really look the part. I think he’s a player."
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