Tottenham’s Mental £85m Purchase of Matheus Fernandes Should Leave Newcastle Fans Very, Very Angry

Tottenham’s Mental £85m Purchase of Matheus Fernandes Should Leave Newcastle Fans Very, Very Angry

We all knew it was coming, and on Tuesday evening, the inevitable was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano – Mateus Fernandes departed relegated West Ham in exchange for an £85 million fee with which the Hammers can invest in securing an immediate return to the Premier League.

There was nothing to be surprised about – as a proven Premier League midfielder and a standout in a poor side, Fernandes was always going to demand big money, and his performances interested Man United, Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Tottenham Hotspur have won the race for West Ham United for midfielder Mateus Fernandes.

Spurs have made the highest offer to West Ham — believed to be worth a £85million (€98m, $112m) guaranteed fee according to sources — and the 21-year-old has decided to join them.

The… pic.twitter.com/AYKNuSrYwh

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 30, 2026

What was surprising was who ended up persuading the Portuguese 21-year-old to sign on the dotted line. It wasn’t the reigning Premier League champions; it wasn’t Los Blancos; it wasn’t even a Champions League-qualifying Man United team. Instead, it was Tottenham Hotspur, who finished in a dismal 17th place last season.

While most fans are busy being puzzled by the whole saga, there is one set of fans that have taken an altogether more infuriated stance, namely Newcastle supporters. One of the favourites in the race to sign the midfielder, the Geordie faithful have now been plunged into a desperate search for a replacement target, with their own midfield set to be plundered by bigger clubs throughout the summer.

Is the Tynesiders' rage justified or simply reactionary to yet another missed opportunity?

Forward Thinking

With both Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães heavily linked with big-money moves away from St James’ Park this summer, it seems inevitable that Eddie Howe’s men will need some reinforcements in the centre of the park at some point in the near future.

The presence of Tonali and Guimaraes has seen Newcastle qualify for two Champions League campaigns in the last three seasons, as well as winning their first piece of major silverware since 1955, as the club lifted the Carabao Cup aloft last year.

Inevitably, their performances were going to attract attention, and especially with Guimaraes impressing with Brazil at this summer's World Cup, it looks increasingly unlikely that the Magpies will be able to hold onto either midfielder, let alone both.

As such, Newcastle fans have been demanding a sale ASAP. It has become abundantly clear that the two midfielders have their attentions elsewhere now, and fans fear that the sooner a move is made, the higher the likelihood of a repeat of last summer's scarcely believable stand-off that occurred between the club and record sale Alexander Isak.

And yet, Newcastle has so far failed to sell and, moreover, hasn't looked likely to. This has seen impatience grow amongst the Black and White ranks, their worry swelling with each day that saw no profit enter the club's bank account, and now, in missing out on Fernandes, they have been dished out just punishment for their dithering approach.

A Question of Cash

The fact that Fernandes went to Tottenham (where, allegedly, he will be earning silly amounts of cash) indicates that he is a player lobbying for money over glory, aiming to set up his family for generations rather than leave a lasting legacy in the game. In spite of their Saudi backing, Newcastle’s lack of bid for the midfielder is concerning for an array of reasons.

It means that, although the owners possess vast wealth, the amount they are legally able to pump into the club isn’t enough to match even a side that was almost relegated last season – prior to the last two campaigns, Spurs were actually considered to be an exceptionally well-run club, and the North London outfit is still feeling the knock-on effects of happier days gone by.

Newcastle, meanwhile, despite recent success and Champions League qualification, are still a club that suffered relegation just nine years ago, and regardless of who owns them or how well they have done in the Premier League since returning, their finances and way of running things are bound to be less effective than that of firmly established Premier League sides, let alone European giants like Real Madrid.

Back to back 17th place finishes in the Premier League and dropping £85m on a relegated player.

Villa who have finished in Europe in each of the last 4 seasons and won the Europa League this season have to sell to buy.

Both of #AVFC's owners are billionaires.

Sad. https://t.co/0VbhJsyVEh

— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) June 30, 2026

Had they cashed in on one of their star midfielders, it would be a different conversation. The profit from selling either Tonali or Guimaraes, both of whom would have gone for at least the figure Fernandes was brought for, would have been more than enough to purchase the youngster on top of the funds already in the bank.

Though fans are naturally in uproar over missing out on his signature, they are as angry at the lack of vision and lack of clarity as much as the lack of transfer movement.

Fear of Success?

It could also be an issue of the club struggling to make the leap from contenders to trophy-contesting regulars.

After spending hundreds of millions of pounds on all the wrong players last season, it showed us that Newcastle, as an institution, do not possess the right mentality to compete at the top level alongside their more illustrious rivals.

The purchase of Fernandes, one of Europe’s most sought-after prospects right now, would have signalled an intent to finally join the top dogs at the big boys' table, a signing to send a message that they are there to compete, both on the pitch and in the transfer market.

🚨 #NUFC - Bruno Guimareas told the board last year that he was open to a move they improved his contract and made him captain.

The player feels let down by the club after he was promised the club would be further forward by now.

BG open to move this summer 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/VIOCkkMzam

— EverythingNUFC (@Nufc2Everything) June 30, 2026

Newcastle fans were desperate for their club to throw some money at the midfielder, the type of signing that can seamlessly see the side transition from one era to the next and usher in a new period of success.

The fact that they missed out on signing a player who no doubt would be their highest-profile transfer of the summer indicated that the owners are not yet serious about taking the Tyneside club or perhaps fear the responsibility of taking the club to the next level and the extra layers of scrutiny that come with that.

Once seen as the next Premier League superpower, Newcastle are trapped beneath a glass ceiling, while all of their rivals around them spend freely. Magpie fans are not so much angry at their club as frustrated about what the deal symbolises.

Rubbing It In

To add insult to injury, Spurs just this afternoon have lodged a €100 million bid for Tonali, an offer that, while hard to refuse, would only further cement Newcastle’s reputation as a seller rather than a buyer.

It would be poetically depressing if Newcastle lost both their primary transfer target and their best player to the same club, made even worse by the fact that team is Tottenham.

Tottenham, Tonali mai così vicino agli Spurs: offerta da 100 milioni di euro al Newcastle #SkySport #SkyCalciomercatohttps://t.co/RQj71ztTsX

— skysport (@SkySport) July 1, 2026

Mind you, Newcastle are looking to take a little measure of revenge themselves, as just minutes before Newcastle’s bid for Tonali hit the mainstream, the Toon made a bid for Spurs' talent Archie Grey, who himself has made waves across England thanks to an impressive season in an otherwise dire Spurs side.

But while Grey would certainly plug a hole in the Newcastle midfield, Eddie Howe, the owners and the fans will always know that they could have filled the gap and some with the signing of Fernandes rather than go for Grey, who feels distinctly like a backup option.