Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has turned around the previously horrendous transfer strategy at the club, getting Spurs to finally make ambitious bids and the sort of top targets and potentially elite talents that they need to be bringing in so that they can compete with the rest of the Premier League Big Six at the top of the table.
Mateus Fernandes may have been relegated with West Ham United, but the 21 year old was so brilliant for such an awful team that clubs as big as Real Madrid were dreaming of him. But Spurs beat out Manchester United and the others by selling the player on the project and spending the 85 million pounds that their London rivals were demanding.
The Portuguese international will immediately step in to De Zerbi's team as a starter next to Sandro Tonali, the 100 million pound defensive midfield transfer made from Newcastle United just a day after securing Fernandes from West Ham.
Tottenham sent a message to the league
But the Fernandes signing, in addition to strengthening Spurs now and in the future, had an additional side benefit. Since Man United could not sign Fernandes, they have gone after another top U23 prospect from a London club, signing away Andrey Santos from Tottenham's bigger rivals Chelsea.
David Ornstein of The Athletic confirmed the transfer, stating that Manchester United are signing Santos for 50 million pounds from Chelsea. While Red Devils fans will undoubtedly try to argue that Santos is cheaper than Fernandes and has just as much long term value, one of them, Fernandes, proved himself as a star in the Premier League and Santos is still trying to do so.
But nevertheless, Tottenham Hotspur will be happy that Manchester United have taken a top young talent away from Chelsea and weakened their midfield in that regard, because even though he is still going to another Big Six club, it is better for Chelsea to be weaker than Man United from the rivalry perspective.
Tottenham signing Mateus Fernandes wa a big moment that showed the rest of the Premier League that Spurs are serious about competing at the top finally. Manchester United got that message loud and clear, and now that message has extended to Chelsea, with Man United having to pick their bones in midfield for a prospect after striking out empty on Fernandes. And Tottenham will continue to push for more top players in the Premier League like Cody Gakpo, Savinho, and maybe even Marcus Rashford.
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