The 20-year-old Fernandes joined Southampton from Sporting this summer in a deal worth up to £16 million, after spending last season on loan at Estoril. Fernandes revealed that the biggest difference he has noticed between Portuguese and English football is the intensity. Fellow summer signing Yukinari Sugawara made a similar claim when speaking to the Daily Echo last month. In an interview on Southampton’s website, Fernandes discussed his first month on the south coast.
Mateus Fernandes said: “I am very happy to be here. The atmosphere in the stadium is very different. The Sporting stadium is very good, but in Portugal, we don’t have many stadiums that have a great atmosphere. In England, we have that. I’ve enjoyed every stadium. I prefer to play at our stadium. I really like the atmosphere in England.”
Fernandes is keen to work with manager Russell Martin to better understand his role,
Mateus Fernandes said “I like the style very much. In Portugal, I played at Sporting. We had the ball a lot of the time. I want the ball and I want to score. I like the coach’s style. I think it’s the best football you can play. I want to do everything. English football has many spaces. It’s different to the Portuguese league. The pitches are very good. I’m new here but the team plays very well. In football, age doesn’t matter. We play and the coach likes to play young players. It’s a long season. We want to win and play well but we want more and more. I want to learn with the coach and with my teammates. For the fans, I want to score and assist. I want to do everything. I have really enjoyed every single minute on the pitch and outside of the pitch too.”
After earning his first Premier League start against Manchester United, Fernandes expressed his excitement about playing against his idol, Bruno Fernandes:
Mateus Fernandes said “I played against my idol Bruno. I want to play more games like this one. In Portugal, Bruno was the best midfielder. He played in Sporting as well. I looked up to him many times at the heart of the pitch. I learned a lot from him.”
Off the pitch, Fernandes is also focused on improving his English, with help from teammate Juan Larios.
Mateus Fernandes said “At the moment, Juan Larios has helped me a lot. I can’t speak English very well. I can speak better Spanish. I’m now living with him and he has helped me a lot. He’s teaching me. I’m watching Prison Break again. It’s easier because I need to learn English. I’ve been watching it again to help my English.”
