Crystal Palace and Leeds look to replicate £58m Chelsea transfer trick for just £30m
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Crystal Palace and Leeds look to replicate £58m Chelsea transfer trick for just £30m

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Southampton could see a key first team player head back to the Premier League this summer with Crystal Palace interested.

Crystal Palace and Leeds United are competing over a potential transfer swoop for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes this summer, following the south coast side’s relegation to the Championship.

The 20-year-old was a standout star for Southampton in what was otherwise a dismal top flight campaign. Fernandes made 36 Premier League appearances, scoring two goals and picking up four assists.

Crystal Palace are looking to strengthen this summer ahead of a Europa League campaign, a place secured thanks to FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City. Meanwhile, Leeds United are looking to build a squad capable of staying in the Premier League, something Southampton did not manage to do last term.

Crystal Palace and Leeds United linked with Southampton man

A Bola also name Nottingham Forest as an interested party in Fernandes, who reportedly looks destined to leave Southampton. The club is said to have slapped a €35 million asking price on the versatile star’s head, which is approximately £30 million.

Fernandes is currently away on international duty with the Portugal under-21 squad with the transfer saga set to step up a notch on his return. Any move for the player would be similar to the strategy employed by Chelsea in 2023 when chasing Romeo Lavia.

The Blues looked to capitalise on the Saints’ relegation to bring the midfielder back to the top flight. That deal cost Chelsea a huge £58 million and any similar move for Fernandes is likely to come at a significantly lower price than that.

Mateus Fernandes compared with Chelsea £58m signing

Former Southampton midfielder Jo Tessem compared the two players when speaking to BBC Radio Solent Southampton earlier this season. He said: “Mateus Fernandes is on people’s radar because every week he plays his heart out, he is by far the best player on the football pitch from a Saints perspective. I said the same about Romeo Lavia.

“I didn’t think he would stay for a season in the Championship and he didn’t – leaving after a year – and he [Fernandes] is on a similar level, albeit a different type of player. He is becoming an ultimate Premier League midfielder and clubs are not going to let that go. He plays like a Premier League player. He passes like a Premier League player. He is quick like a Premier League player. He conducts himself so well in midfield.”

Fernandes would be a coup for Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest given his versatility in the middle of the park. The rising star prefers an attacking midfield role but is also adept as a left winger, in defensive midfield and even as a striker.

The player still has another four years left on his Southampton deal, which puts the Championship club in a strong negotiating position. The Saints paid £15 million to sign the player from Sporting Lisbon last summer, with the Portuguese side set to pocket a sell-on fee from any transfer away from St Mary’s Stadium.

In other news, Crystal Palace and Leeds United already sent assurances over Millwall transfer.

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