Fernandes leads the way for improving Hammers

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When Lucas Paqueta departed West Ham to return to Brazil in January, fans responding to his exit on this page were fairly resounding in their view that they were losing a great player but it was the right time to part ways.

One of the reasons for that was the performances of summer signing Mateus Fernandes.

"Fernandes is a very different option to Paqueta," one wrote. "Fernandes is a grafter with an eye for goal or a through pass. Lucas is a great player but he is a liability in a struggling side like ours."

Another wrote: "He has been a great player for the club but now feels the right time to move on for both parties. On recent performances Fernandes has shown he can step up."

When Paqueta signed for Flamengo at the end of January, the Hammers were in the Premier League's relegation zone, five points adrift of safety, and were only in that position after winning consecutive matches against Tottenham and Sunderland.

On Monday, Fernandes was named player of the match as West Ham ground out a goalless draw at Crystal Palace which moved them two points above the relegation zone and kept their survival fate in their own hands.

He won 100% of his aerial duels, seven out of eight ground duels, completed six of his seven attempted long balls, made nine passes into the final third, recorded an 87% pass accuracy and made 12 defensive contributions.

It was a true all-action performance. Fernandes is not as capable of an x-factor moment or viral piece of skill as Paqueta was but, like the Hammers fan mentioned above said, he is a grafter with an eye for a pass.

He has not adopted Paqueta's often free role behind the striker but instead regularly starts alongside Tomas Soucek in central midfield, giving him more protection to break forward and join January attacking signings Pablo and Taty Castellanos.

Fernandes tops several key metrics in the West Ham squad, showing his importance from both a defensive and creative standpoint.

He leads the way in possession won (156), passes ending in the final third (356), successful passes in the opposition half (575), tackles (85), duels won (167), recoveries (156) and midfield line-breaking passes (101).

In the 23 league games West Ham played before Paqueta's departure, West Ham averaged exactly a goal per game and 1.96 goals conceded per game. In the 10 matches since, they have averaged 1.7 goals scored and 1.2 conceded per game.

*Stats provided by Opta