Where Mateus Fernandes would rank in West Ham’s record signings if they seal £50m Southampton move | OneFootball

A look at West Ham United's record signings amid their pursuit of Mateus Fernandes, valued at £50 million by Southampton.

With a couple of weeks to go in the summer transfer window, it is shaping up to be an extremely busy time for EFL clubs, and Southampton are expected to be one of the busiest.

English-Belgian coach Will Still has been appointed at St Mary’s, and he helped Saints earn a victory in his first competitive game in charge on the opening day as they came from behind to defeat Wrexham by two goals to one down on the south coast.

It was an unconvincing performance and a lack of cohesion is to be expected for Southampton, with a lot still up in the air with regards to their squad, especially concerning the futures of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling and Samuel Edozie.

As well as that, Mateus Fernandes is the reported subject of interest from West Ham United, with the Irons having had a £30 million bid rejected for the Portuguese midfielder.

Southampton are said to be asking for a £50 million fee for the former Sporting CP man, who came off the bench to help turn things around for Saints against Wrexham and then scored the only goal of the game in their 1-0 defeat of Northampton Town at Sixfields in the first round of the EFL Cup in midweek.

£50 million would be a club-record initial fee for West Ham to shell out on a player, and Football League World has taken a look at their previous top five signings just to put that into perspective.

The former Barcelona defender joined West Ham on a season-long loan deal last summer, and he made enough appearances to activate a clause that made his move to the London Stadium a permanent one.

The 25-year-old centre-back has arrived from Nice for a fee believed to be in the region of £32.8 million, marking him out as West Ham’s fifth most expensive signing of all time.

4 Lucas Paqueta

Fourth on the list is Brazil international midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who moved to the east end of London in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of £36.5 million, with the possibility for that to rise to just short of £50 million with add-ons.

The former AC Milan man, who moved from Olympique Lyonnais, has been the subject of betting charges brought against him by The FA, but he has subsequently been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Next on the list is someone who has this summer departed the Irons, having moved across the capital city for Tottenham Hotspur, joining Spurs for around £55 million.

Ghana international Mohammed Kudus is one of the most exciting players to watch in European football and he moved to West Ham in the summer of 2023 from Ajax for a reported fee of £38 million.

2 Max Kilman

Another centre-back is second on the list for the Hammers, with former England futsal international Max Kilman having arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer.

West Ham are said to have paid £40 million for the now 28-year-old, who was joining his former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui, who has since been replaced by Graham Potter, and he endured a mixed first campaign last season.

In the summer of 2019, West Ham brought in Ivory Coast international attacker Sebastian Haller for a fee believed to be worth £45 million from Eintracht Frankfurt.

The France-born striker experienced an underwhelming stint at West Ham and had since rebuilt his career at Ajax and then Borussia Dortmund. He most recently played for Leganes in La Liga, having previously battled against testicular cancer.