Exclusive: What Don Goodman thinks about £30m Southampton FC transfer race involving Leeds United | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Don Goodman has been discussing the transfer interest in Southampton star Mateus Fernandes.

Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes is being tracked by a number of clubs in this country and one major European name this summer.

Very few things stood out as positives in the Saints' 2024/25 campaign in which they returned to the Premier League after securing promotion from the Championship in 2023/24.

They finished bottom of the league and came close to having the worst points tally of any team in the competition's history, but the acquisition of Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon was a good move.

The midfielder arrived for £15 million and, after a stellar term, may now hand Southampton a huge profit.

Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have all been linked with him, with Daniel Farke's newly promoted side reportedly willing to pay £30 million for the 20-year-old.

Portuguese outlet A Bola suggested in their Sunday publication that the Saints would even take slightly less for Fernandes - €35 million (~ £27 million) - but, according to local reports, the Hampshire side are looking to get way more than that.

Don Goodman makes Southampton, Mateus Fernandes transfer claim

It's a lot of money for any of these teams to spend on a somewhat unproven player, according to Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman.

He believes paying that sort of money for the Southampton midfielder, who has also been linked with Juventus, would be a big risk.

"Fernandes was one of the very, very few bright sparks at Southampton last season," the Sky Sports pundit exclusively told Football League World.

"He played a lot of football for someone so young - just 20, nearly 21. Having said all of that, £30 million is a huge fee, really, for clubs like Leeds, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

"You're paying that for potential, so it would be a massive gamble, as it is with all young players that have more or less had two seasons of senior football.

"We'll see, but it would be a gamble for any of those clubs to pay that kind of money for him."

Mateus Fernandes could realistically remain at Southampton this summer

The Saints are putting some pretty wild price tags on their talents following their relegation, according to The Telegraph's John Percy.

If they are very stubborn about their valuation, then there's a chance that Leeds, Palace and Forest could be priced out of a deal.

Another reason for Fernandes staying at St Mary's is because he genuinely wants to be part of new manager Will Still's project.

In an interview on Southampton's official website, the 20-year-old spoke of his plans to return to the south coast after the end of the under-21s Euros competition that he is currently representing Portugal in.

“I have a contract with Southampton, so I think so,” Fernandes said regarding his Saints future beyond the summer tournament.

“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.”

He has a long time left on his contract - four years, to be exact. As such, there's absolutely no pressure on the club to compromise in negotiations, and that could well lead to the midfielder ending the summer as a Southampton player.