- West Ham United could be relegated on Sunday
- Mateus Fernandes has been one of the few Hammers’ bright sparks
- Fernandes and goalkeeper Mads Hermansen win West Ham fan-voted awards
Despite West Ham United facing the unnerving prospect of losing their Premier League place for the first time since 2011 this weekend, there are few bright sparks to a dire campaign.
One of those is midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who has continued to display his value to the team following a successful debut season in East London. The Portuguese midfielder has emerged as one of West Ham’s star players in an otherwise difficult season, immediately establishing himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet after signing from Southampton last summer. Fernandes’ consistency and maturity in midfield have caught the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Mads Hermansen may not have had the smooth upward trajectory in his season like Fernandes, having spent much of the season’s first half on the bench following a shaky start after joining from Leicester City. The Dane has bounced back since the turn of the year and, like his aforementioned teammate, has been duly recognised by the club.
Mateus Fernandes and Mads Hermansen win West Ham fan-voted awards
Fernandes’ performances have also been acknowledged league-wide, as he was recently nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Season award after effortlessly adapting to life in the top division.
The 21-year-old’s success has now earned him extra recognition, as West Ham’s official club website announced on Friday that he had won the club’s Lyca Mobile Goal of the Season award for his fizzing top-corner strike against Sunderland in January, which fans voted as the club’s finest goal of the 2025/26 season.
The same game saw Fernandes come close to scoring another spectacular effort, only for his similar strike at the other end to bounce off the crossbar and land on the wrong side of the goal line.
As for Hermansen, his down-low stop to deny Manchester City striker Erling Haaland in the Hammers’ 1-1 draw with the then-title-chasers from close range won the fans’ vote for the Save of the Season.
It was one of a series of outstanding displays between the posts that Hermansen would put throughout the early spring. However, the former Leicester man’s mistake in West Ham’s last outing against Newcastle could worryingly undermine his second-half-of-the-season form, while confirming his team’s dwindling state.
