Mateus Fernandes: “I told Pedro Porro, 'I’m ready to fight for titles'...”
Mateus Fernandes tapped into the knowledge of a familiar face on his way to joining Spurs – Pedro Porro.
The pair were team-mates at Sporting CP in Lisbon, Portugal between 2020-2023 – Mateus graduating from Sporting’s academy, Pedro joining from City. They started a game together and were regularly in the squad together in January, 2023 before Pedro’s switch to N17.
Now the pair will be reunited after we announced Mateus’ arrival from West Ham on Thursday morning. Pedro, who signed a new deal last month, is currently on World Cup duty with Spain, but it won’t be long before they are set to share a dressing room again.
Speaking in his first interview, Mateus told us: “I spoke with Pedro Porro. I played with him at Sporting and he spoke about everything. He spoke about the manager, the mentality change in the group, the training ground, the stadium. Of course, London, it's a city that I know now, but he spoke about the city as well.
“He told me many, many good things about the club, so I'm ready. I told him, 'I'm ready to fight for titles' and this is our way. Now, I try to do my best.”
Featuring regularly for Sporting’s B team in the third tier aged just 17 in 2021/22, Mateus played 10 times for the first team before an impressive loan in the Premier Liga with Estoril (35 appearances) in 2023/24. That earned a move to the Premier League and Southampton in 2024.
"It was put to Mateus that his confidence on the ball under pressure in tight midfield areas would have been drilled into him at Sporting. “Yes, I learned this when I was in Sporting, to play with the ball, to try to control the game, trying to use my head.
"It's not just about who runs more, or who fights more, it's just who knows the timing to pass, to attack, to defend. So, everything that I am today, it's because I was before and I learned before.”