Aston Villa have now joined the race to sign West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes alongside some of the biggest clubs in Europe, according to CaughtOffside.

Aston Villa are gearing up for a return to the Champions League next season following an outstanding season that saw them finish fourth in the Premier League, as well as winning the Europa League.

Now, Unai Emery will want his squad to be strengthened to allow them to compete in the Premier League and the Champions League next term, especially with continued rumours that their top flight rivals are taking an interest in Morgan Rogers.

Villa will be one of a number of clubs who will look to take advantage of any opportunities involving relegated clubs, with some top players on course to play in the Championship as things stand.

One of those is Fernandes after West Ham suffered a devastating relegation on the final day of the Premier League season, and the 21-year-old will be a player in serious demand this summer as a result.

With Douglas Luiz set to return to Juventus following his loan spell at Villa Park, there is a spot for a new midfielder under Emery.

Aston Villa Face Fierce Competition for Mateus Fernandes Deal

While Aston Villa have burst into the race to sign the highly-rated Mateus Fernandes, they are not alone, as per CaughtOffside.

Manchester United are considered the frontrunners for the £52m-rated star after accelerating talks with the 21-year-old’s representatives, but there is also interest from Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League.

Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain are also keen, alongside La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, while Serie A trio Juventus, Napoli and Inter Milan are also showing interest in the Portugal international.

Mateus Fernandes the Perfect Signing for Aston Villa

If Aston Villa want to inject some freshness and energy into their midfield for next season, then Fernandes is the ideal candidate.

The 21-year-old ‘superstar’ has proven himself to often be the best player in both the Southampton and West Ham sides he has played in across the last two seasons, often outshining his senior teammates.

The Portugal international has shown that he can play in a variety of roles across midfield, including as a ‘6’, ‘8’ and a ’10’, although he does look better suited to either of the latter two as things stand.

Fernandes showed his reliability as he played in every one of the 36 Premier League games he was available for at West Ham this season, registering three goals and four assists.

While the likes of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana continue to impress in the centre of the park for Villa, they will need added quality and depth for next season as they return to Europe’s elite club competition.

Fernandes has better options on paper than Villa in terms of the size of some of the clubs looking at him, but perhaps he will feel that he has more chance of being a regular starter at Villa Park than some of the other options on the table.

Time will tell in the next few weeks, but Villa have laid their cards on the table for the Portuguese star.

During his decade-long spell as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola made some extraordinary signings. But one decision in the summer of 2022 may well go down as the most costly error of his entire managerial career in England.

It’s easy to forget, given everything that’s followed, just how good Guardiola’s transfer record at the Etihad was. When he arrived in 2016, he inherited a squad already packed with world-class talent. David Silva was pulling the strings, Sergio Aguero was scoring for fun, and Yaya Toure was bossing the midfield.

But rather than rest on those foundations, he kept building. The now-departed Bernardo Silva showed up in 2018, Rodri arrived and won a Ballon d’Or five years later, and Erling Haaland broke the all-time Premier League scoring record in his first season.

Which is why what happened four years ago still stings. Faced with a choice between two midfielders, he backed the wrong horse, with both players having polar-opposite careers since.

Why Guardiola Chose Kalvin Phillips Over Declan Rice

According to The Telegraph, the decision came down to a straight choice in the summer of 2022: Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips or West Ham’s Declan Rice. Guardiola went with Phillips, convinced that his passing range and scanning abilities made him the better fit for City’s system.

And you could see his thinking at the time. ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’ had been exceptional in England’s run to the Euro 2020 (2021) final, and his ability to read the game and recycle possession had drawn admiring glances from all over Europe. For a manager as detail-obsessed as Guardiola, those qualities would’ve mattered most.

The problem, in hindsight, was that so much of what made Phillips effective was tied to the specific environment Marcelo Bielsa had built around him at Leeds. Take him out of that situation and drop him into the relentless demands of a Guardiola side, and the fit wasn’t right. His game was fundamentally defensive, with little of the forward-carrying ability that City’s midfield required.

Rice, by contrast, had everything. The engine, the aggression, the technical quality, and the capacity to influence games in both directions.

To his credit, Guardiola seemed to clock the mistake fairly quickly. City made a genuine attempt to sign Rice the following summer, only for Arsenal to win the race, securing the West Ham skipper for £100 million.

Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips Have Gone in Very Different Directions

The four years since have told the story pretty bluntly. Phillips has managed just 32 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City. He’s been sent out on loan three times in three seasons, first to West Ham and then Ipswich, with both being spells as bad as the other, and now Sheffield United in the Championship.

The Blades are said to be keen on making the arrangement permanent, though. But with his contract not expiring until 2028, a free transfer to Bramall Lane might be out of the question for a player who cost City £42 million.

Rice’s story reads very differently. The move to Arsenal transformed him from a very good player into an elite one, and many would say he’s one of the best midfielders in the world and a future England captain. This season, the 27-year-old led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years, and made it all the way to the Champions League final. He’s exactly the kind of player City would love to have right now, especially with Rodri’s recent fitness issues.

As it happens, City are in the market for midfield reinforcements, with a move for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson said to be in the works. City will likely have to break the British transfer record set by Arsenal for Rice to secure it.

Tennis legend John McEnroe once revealed who he considers the greatest player ever on each surface, offering his verdict on the best performers across every type of court.

With the four Grand Slam tournaments contested on three distinct surfaces — grass, clay, and hard courts — it takes an exceptional athlete to achieve the career Grand Slam by capturing all four major titles. Only nine men and 10 women have accomplished that remarkable milestone.

However, every surface presents unique challenges, and while some players thrive in certain conditions, others find them difficult to master. British star Jack Draper, for instance, admitted that grass is his least favourite surface, a claim that seemed justified when he recently suffered a surprising second-round defeat to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe’s Picks For Every Tennis Surface

Clay – Rafael Nadal

When discussing the greatest players by surface, McEnroe began with clay, the surface synonymous with Roland Garros. Unsurprisingly, he selected Rafael Nadal, widely regarded as the undisputed King of Clay.

The Spanish icon captured an astonishing 14 French Open titles over a 17-year period. His first triumph came in 2005, and he remained virtually unbeatable in Paris, with his first defeat arriving against Robin Soderling in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets in 2009.

Appropriately, Nadal received a special tribute at the French Open in recent years, and his footprint has been permanently displayed at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

McEnroe told Inside the NBA when asked who he considered the greatest clay-court player: “Rafael Nadal, on the surface we’re going to see over the next couple of weeks, without a doubt, it’s him on clay at Roland Garros.”

Grass – Roger Federer

In much the same way that Nadal dominated on clay, McEnroe’s choice for the finest grass-court player was Roger Federer.

The Swiss maestro, an eight-time Wimbledon champion and one of Centre Court’s most beloved figures, became famous for his graceful movement and effortless style on grass. McEnroe also acknowledged another grass-court great while discussing the category, adding: “To me, Rod Laver, way back when, was my idol.”

Laver enjoyed tremendous success during the 1960s, collecting 11 Grand Slam singles titles, including four Wimbledon crowns. Nevertheless, Federer’s achievements and sustained excellence on grass placed him at the top of McEnroe’s list.

Hard – Novak Djokovic

Turning to hard courts, the surface used at both the US Open and Australian Open, as well as many tour events throughout the season, McEnroe had no hesitation in naming Novak Djokovic as the greatest ever.

Speaking with Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley during an appearance on their programme, he said: “The best hard-court player of all time would be Novak Djokovic.”

The Serbian superstar owns a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, with 14 of those coming on the hard courts of Melbourne and New York. Even at 39 years old, Djokovic continues to challenge for major trophies. His versatility across all surfaces and multiple victories at every Grand Slam underline his greatness.

All three selections as the greatest players on their preferred surfaces seem fitting, considering Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic collectively dominated men’s tennis for well over a decade-and-a-half.