Sandro Tonali has already been showing in the preseason that he can easily be worth every penny of the whopping 100 million pounds that Tottenham Hotspur spent to sign him from Newcastle United last summer transfer window, showing a level of. technical quality, composure, and defensive coverage far beyond what Spurs received last season.
Though he has been out of the lineup more often as Spurs play things safe with his fitness, when he has been on the field, Mateus Fernandes, too, has been impeccable, and his quality should not be overshadowed by Tonali's.
Fernandes is only 22 years old and played for a team that was relegated from the Premier League last season, but he was also the only player in that West Ham United midfield who was controlling the play and had to do the work of three people.
Mateus Fernandes is already a high quality passer
It is immediately apparent watching Fernandes this preseason that he is not your average U23 midfielder. Fernandes has a weight of the pass and a technique with which he strikes the ball to put it into the path of the forwards and swerve it around defenders that is impossible to teach. It is a honed craft worked on by the player himself - and a player with an innate feel for the game.
Mateus Fernandes was mostly praised for his athleticism and ball winning ability while at West Ham last season, but Tottenham have to realize that the best thing about a young midfielder like this is the quality to produce progressive passing and turn tight spots in possession into opportunities to drive forward, whether on the break or comfortably with the ball against a tight low block.
Roberto De Zerbi does not sign center midfielders who he feels are lacking in terms of their quality on the ball, and Fernandes has an easy grace by which he plays the game that the other Spurs players will appreciate, particularly the wingers who will carress those curved passes out wide into their stride.
Tottenham Hotspur struggled frequently last season with turning defense into attack and moving quickly, and there was a lot of sloppiness about their play in midfield. Everyone knows Sandro Tonali is a key part of rectifying that, but at a cheaper price and a younger age, the 85 million pound Fernandes is also very much one to watch. Spurs are going to need to trust him, especially when facing pressure, as he has the quality to withstand it.
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