REAL MADRID ALERT: MATEUS FERNANDES LINKED WITH SHOCK MOVE TO THE BERNABéU RECENTLY
West Ham face a double exit as Flamengo bid for Lucas Paqueta and Real Madrid target Mateus Fernandes via a £20m relegation clause.
West Ham United might lose one of their top players soon, and the non-stop talk about Lucas Paquetá only adds to the tension.
Tottenham Hotspur are on the hunt for another attacker for Thomas Frank this January. They’re not alone. Several clubs want Paquetá, but he’s leaning toward Flamengo. He’s already turned down one bid from the Brazilian side, who won the 2025 Copa Libertadores. Now, The Athletic says Flamengo came back with a second offer—over £35 million, add-ons included—but West Ham said no again.
West Ham wants more than £50 million to let Paquetá go. With less than two weeks left in the January window, the club’s in a tight spot. They’re just five points above the drop zone, and losing Paquetá now would make it tough to find a replacement.
And Paqueta isn’t the only one they have to worry about. If West Ham slips into the Championship, another key midfielder could be on his way out.
Now, about Mateus Fernandes—reports from Spain (via West Ham Zone) say several West Ham players have relegation clauses in their contracts. Fernandes, who’s been a standout since joining last summer on £60,000 a week, is one of them. If the club goes down, he can leave for around £20 million, which is about half of what West Ham paid for him. That price tag has put him on Real Madrid’s radar. He’s on a shortlist with names like Rodri and Vitinha, and Madrid sees him as a realistic target to boost their midfield.
Other clubs know about the clause too, but let’s face it—Madrid’s pull is hard to match. Fernandes is only 21, but his potential is clear. Former Southampton midfielder Jo Tessem spoke about him on BBC Radio Solent’s Southampton podcast in March 2025: “[Fernandes] 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.”
West Ham need Fernandes if they want to claw their way out of the bottom three. But if they end up relegated, it’s tough to imagine him sticking around.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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