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The term ‘press resistant’ has entered the footballing lexicon in recent times, and few Premier League operators epitomise the phrase better than West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes.
Essentially, if you are not already aware, if a player is ‘press resistant’ – as the hipsters and scouts label it – that means they are highly adept at skirting around an opposition press. Either they can play their way out of pressure with speedy, incisive passes, or they can use a burst of acceleration to break free of a tight bind.
A description which immediately conjures up memories of Mateus Fernandes, in the claret and blue of West Ham United, receiving the ball up against a charging opposition midfielder, popping it around him with a blink-and-you-miss-it one-two. Or, perhaps, using his usually impeccable first touch to leave his befuddled marker chasing shadows.
See Kobbie Mainoo, Adam Wharton, Elliott Anderson, Ryan Gravenberch, Carlos Baleba, and so on.
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Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images Is West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes the Premier League’s most ‘press resistant’ midfielder?
Fernandes has created the most chances at West Ham this season, level with Jarrod Bowen.
He also tops the charts for the highest average number of tackles per 90 minutes. Just to really complete the picture of a brilliant all-round midfielder, Fernandes boasts the highest ‘pass completion percentage under high pressure’ of any Premier League midfielder in 2025/26.
A niche stat, certainly, but a very descriptive one too.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
In short, Fernandes is the seemingly most effective player in his position when it comes to beating a high press.
Some metrics have Chelsea maestro Moises Caicedo at the top of the charts; this is not an easy measurement to quantify. But that he ranks so highly speaks not only to Fernandes’ athletic abilities but also the problem-solving skills of an escape artist who would make Houdini jealous.
Fernandes’ dribble success rate – 63 per cent – also places him ahead of other, stylistically similar contemporaries such as the aforementioned Mainoo, Anderson and Wharton.
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Freddie Potts says Fernandes ‘makes my job easier’
In an era where top-level managers tend to demand extreme levels of physical output and a ferocious off-the-ball work from their midfielders, Fernandes is not only tailor-made for the modern Premier League game, but also perfectly-suited to exploit the high-pressing principles of most rival sides.
Speaking to the official West Ham YouTube channel, Freddie Potts shone a light on the qualities which make Fernandes the ideal partner in the centre of the park.
“Mateus is a really technical player, very gifted, very good on the ball,” Potts said. “When I play with him, it makes my job easier!”
A fine playmaker, ball-winner, ball-striker, and an elite press-resistant technician. A model team-mate, too. Is there nothing Matty Fernandes can’t do?
Jo Tessem, the former Southampton captain, called Fernandes the ‘ultimate midfielder’ last season at St Mary’s. You can see why.
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