Tottenham have returned to form and one player in particular caught the eye in their last match and could be a club to watch with envy in Manchester
Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United should have done more for Tottenham midfielder Mateus Fernandes in the summer.
Spurs signed the Portuguese in an £85million move from West Ham at the start of the summer window and the now 22-year-old centre-half has seen interest from United. Fernandes has revealed he wants to link up with Roberto De Zerbi, while sources around the Manchester outfit claim they are unwilling to reach the north London side’s financial levels.
Despite claims by his new boss that he will be one of the club’s best players, Fernandes’ early months at Spurs saw him mainly used from the bench or in a No.10 role when he started, failing to make the most of his abilities.
However, De Zerbi handed the midfielder, who became a father this month, his fourth Premier League start of the season in a deeper role against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night, as the Portugal U21 international dominated Spurs’ 2-0 win.
Fernandes has the most touches (121), most passes (91 out of 99), most passes in the final third (16), most tackles (5), most chances created (2) from either side and won six duels and had six possessions. He led the field with 14 defensive contributions, followed by Tonali with 12 and Mohamed Kudus with 11.
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The midfielder also headed home a corner which Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders punched over his own line under pressure from Jan Paul van Heck to open the scoring.
Carragher was happy to finally see the version of Fernandes he thought Spurs were getting and couldn’t believe United wouldn’t push harder for him.
“I’m a big fan of Fernandes. He didn’t start the season well. I didn’t understand why the manager was playing him as a No.10. Then sometimes he didn’t play, but I watched him a few times at West Ham United last season and I thought he was a player,” he said.
“I think he was the man Manchester United should have gone to. I know they brought in three players. They only had to bring in two and he was one of them. He was young, he had plenty of time to improve. He was looking for class at West Ham last season and it was the first time I saw him in a Tottenham shirt. I think he is a player.”
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