Tottenham Hotspur manager decided not to start defensive midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who actually started as the No. 10 in last weekend's loss to Newcastle United, against Nottingham Forest despite the fact that the Portuguese international was the team's best midfielder and probably their best player through the first two Premier League fixtures.
His reasoning was seemingly bizarre, bringing up that Conor Gallagher is more experienced in a Premier League stadium like Nottingham Forest's, though fans understood the implication that Fernandes may not be one thousand percent fit and that risking him against the boorish behavior and frequent kicking of the Forest players would not be wise for when Spurs are actually able to get wins later in the season.
Without Fernandes out there, the Tottenham midfield actually played well overall with Rodrigo Bentancur and Sandro Tonali shining, as Benta continued his quietly strong start to the season while Tonali had his first decent game in Spurs colors. And even Conor Gallagher managed to not be completely terrible while back in that No. 10 role.
Mateus Fernandes is getting closer to being untouchable
But even though he did not play, Mateus Fernandes still managed to boost his stock, because Tottenham Hotspur clearly did miss him in the 0-0 draw. Although Fernandes is not a playmaker by trade, he certainly offers more technical quality and better playmaking than Gallagher, who did not create any strong chances for Tottenham while Fernandes regularly had two or three during his appearances this season.
Spurs knew that Mateus Fernandes would be a key player of the present and an even bigger star in the future when they signed him for 85 million pounds from rivals West Ham United, but even Tottenham could not have envisioned Fernandes being so important that he is missed on days he does not play, even when the midfield itself plays better as a whole.
Fernandes had a weight of passing and athleticism about him, giving him a rare combination of athletic tools and technical quality that is difficult to find in the Premier League. And even though Sandro Tonali has that combination, Fernandes has surprsingly offered more on the offensive end to start the 2026/27 Premier League season, and that's an aspect of the Portugese international's developing game that Spurs definitely didn't see coming.
As Spurs try to push for their first win of the season, Fernandes is making it clear to Roberto De Zerbi and the club that he is untouchable whenever he is fit enough to be in the lineup.
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