Former Sporting CP academy coach Filipe Pedro has no connection with West Ham United, but he always checks their results to keep track of Mateus Fernandes.

Pedro coached the 21-year-old midfielder for Sporting’s under-23s and has followed his progress since his departure from the Portuguese club in 2024, when he made a £15million ($20.2m) move to Southampton.

After they were relegated last season, Fernandes joined West Ham in August in a deal worth £38million. This term, he has been one of the club’s few shining lights.

West Ham remain in the relegation zone and are four points from safety, but Pedro believes Fernandes has the exact qualities the situation calls for.

He recalls that, when Fernandes was coming through at Sporting, players such as Matheus Nunes, Manuel Ugarte and Joao Palhinha made it “difficult for Mateus to force his way into the team”.

He adds: “But he has worked hard and proved people wrong. As a coach, you need players who have this fighting spirit. West Ham needs players like Mateus. He can help them stay up and create history there.”

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Fernandes, who was born in Olhao in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, joined Sporting’s academy aged 13 in 2016 from boyhood side Olhanense. The midfielder rose through the age groups and was fast-tracked to the reserve team in 2021-22.

He signed his first professional contract in October 2022 and that same month made his first-team debut against Casa Pia aged 18.

“Mateus was one of the standout players in the academy and everyone rooted for him,” says Pedro. “He was young but played like one of the older players so we moved him up to the older age groups and he coped well. I had him for the U23s for six games before he moved up the B team. That is the best way to explain how talented he is.”

That 2022-23 season, Fernandes made seven appearances for Sporting, also featuring for the club’s reserve team in Portugal’s third tier, as well as the under-19 side in the UEFA Youth League, where they reached the semi-finals.

For the following 2023-24 campaign, he went on loan to Portuguese top-flight club Estoril. He played 35 times as they finished one point above the relegation play-off spot, also finishing as League Cup runners-up to SC Braga.

Vasco Seabra, now head coach of Arouca, managed Estoril for nine months from September 2023 to June 2024. He played an important role in Fernandes’ development and recalls some of his initial challenges.

Fernandes playing for Sporting’s under-19s in September 2021 (Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

“He was 19 when I worked with him and he was our youngest player,” says Seabra. “He needed to develop as a footballer, but I couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with. He would get to the training ground early so he could say good morning to everyone. You won’t find one person who has a bad word to say about him.