Mourinho Targets Mateus Fernandes for Real Madrid's New Project

Jose Mourinho has started drawing the outlines of a new Real Madrid, and one name keeps resurfacing on his list: Mateus Fernandes.

The 21-year-old West Ham United midfielder, fresh from a breakout season in the Premier League, has been identified by Mourinho as a key target if Florentino Perez wins the upcoming Real Madrid presidential election, according to AS. This is not a casual mention. It is part of a broader vision the Portuguese coach is quietly assembling for his second era at the Bernabeu.

A bright light in a relegated side

West Ham’s season collapsed. Fernandes’ reputation did not.

While the London club slid into the Championship, the young midfielder pieced together a campaign that caught the eye of scouts across Europe. He played 36 Premier League matches, scored three goals, and added four assists. The numbers tell only part of the story. Week after week, he showed he could affect games in both boxes – snapping into tackles, driving through midfield, and offering a rare blend of energy and composure in a struggling side.

Those performances turned him into one of the few genuine positives in West Ham’s relegation campaign. For Mourinho, they were enough to mark him out as a player who fits the profile he wants at Real Madrid.

Why Mourinho wants Fernandes

AS reports that Mourinho is particularly taken with Fernandes’ all-round profile. The fact they share a nationality is a footnote; what matters is the toolkit.

Fernandes brings legs, aggression, and personality. He can press high, cover ground, and still contribute in possession. Mourinho sees in him the kind of midfielder who can give Real Madrid what they lacked last season: sustained intensity, balance between attack and defence, and a bit of bite in the middle of the pitch.

In Mourinho’s mind, this is not a luxury signing. It is structural. He views Fernandes as the sort of player who can knit together a new-look midfield and set the tone without needing the spotlight.

A complicated pursuit

Relegation usually weakens a selling club. In this case, it has simply opened the door, not blown it off its hinges.

West Ham’s drop to the second tier makes an exit more plausible, and relations between Real Madrid and super-agent Jorge Mendes have improved to the point where negotiations should at least be workable. That alignment of interests gives Madrid a path into the deal.

But it will not be cheap, and it will not be uncontested.

Liverpool and Arsenal are also tracking Fernandes closely, sensing the same opportunity: a high-upside midfielder, already tested in the Premier League, now accessible because of relegation. Any conversation is expected to start around the £80 million mark, a figure that instantly filters out the half-interested.

For most clubs, that price tag would trigger a long internal debate. For Mourinho, it looks more like a calculated gamble. He believes the investment can be justified if it delivers a midfielder who injects energy, balance and character into a Real Madrid side that, in his view, ran short of all three.

The question now is simple: if Perez secures the presidency and hands Mourinho the keys, will Real Madrid move decisively enough to beat England’s elite to Mateus Fernandes – and let a relegated midfielder become the heartbeat of their next project?