Mateus Fernandes hint hands Southampton FC potential major boost as Leeds United and Crystal Palace lurk | OneFootball

The Portuguese midfielder might not be a sitting duck for the top flight trio to snatch.

Mateus Fernandes has revealed that he hopes to be with Southampton next season amid interest from Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

It's going to be a big summer of sales once again at St Mary's. Dragan Solak, the club's chairman, is hoping to make £100 million from offloading Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Aaron Ramsdale; that's before you even get to their highly coveted Portuguese midfielder.

Fernandes, who signed a five-year deal when he was bought from Sporting Lisbon for £15 million, was one of the few bright spots in a very glum 2024/25 campaign for Southampton which saw them get relegated back to the Premier League.

Just like former Saint Romeo Lavia, his breakthrough season at St Mary's has put him in the minds of a number of top flight clubs.

Forest and Palace, who will both play European football next season, are reportedly interested in the 20-year-old, as are Championship winners Leeds. Daniel Farke's side are willing to pay close to £30 million for Fernandes, according to Alan Nixon, but Hampshire outlet, the Daily Echo, have stated that the south coast club value him much higher than that.

Mateus Fernandes offers positive update on his Southampton future

The midfielder will be off to represent his country and the European under-21s Championship this summer, against the likes of Southampton teammate Ronnie Edwards, who has been named in Lee Carsley's training squad ahead of the tournament.

Once Fernandes returns from the event in Slovakia, he hopes to return to St Mary's and help the club to a much better season than the one they just endured. "I have a contract with Southampton, so I think so," said the 20-year-old on the chances of him coming back to the Saints after the Euros.

"The next season will be different, I hope. Maybe we can play much better and win many, many games. We will work for that, train for that and I think we can do much better than this year."

Getting Fernandes, or indeed any Southampton player, this summer may prove tricky though, as they are setting "ridiculous" asking prices for their players, according to The Telegraph's John Percy.

Keeping Mateus Fernandes would be a huge boost for Southampton

The midfielder is clearly above Southampton's newfound level. He proved in the worst team in the Premier League - one of the worst in the competition's history - that he is good enough to play in the best leagues in Europe. To have a player of that quality in Will Still's squad will massively increase the club's chances of a quick Premier League return.

It may end up like Lavia, though, where they eventually get an offer that's too good to turn down as a result of a bidding war between these top flight sides. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad scenario for the Saints either.