Tottenham Hotspur will face another London rival this weekend on Halloween against Crystal Palace, and back at home, Spurs will want to avoid anything less than the full three points against a team that is not only in 17th, but so poor that they are considering sacking their manager and hiring Thomas Frank if they lose to Spurs. So as if Spurs needed any more motivation to take down an incompetently run Palace, then the thought of Frank relegating the Eagles will entice them even more.
But despite Crystal Palace basically getting rid of almost everyone competent in their team over the past couple of years, including Ballon d'Or candidate Michael Olise, they have held onto one absolute gem in Adam Wharton, whom many Tottenham fans viewed as a dream regista of the future.
These days, Tottenham don't need him. They have their own young English regista of the future in Archie Gray, as well as a world class deep playmaker of the present in Roberto De Zerbi's "Chosen One" (my homage to Drew McInfa- I mean, McIntyre). They also have Rodrigo Bentancur, the young Lucas Bergvall, and recently signed a young box to box midfielder who is as young as Wharton but even better in Mateus Fernandes.
Last weekend, Fernandes finally got to start as a defensive midfielder in his preferred 6/8 role next to Sandro Tonali, and he was the Man of the Match, literally. Fernandes rocked Stamford Bridge with his ability to win the ball and his ability to pass through the defense, showcasing exactly what he did at West Ham United that made Tottenham Hotspur sign him for 85 million pounds ahead of interest from clubs as big as Manchester United and even Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.
On Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mateus Fernandes has a chance to boss a Crystal Palace midifeld that is less of a threat to him than Chelsea's under Xabi Alonso. Palace are not nearly as well coached, not nearly as organized defensively, and all they really have is Adam Wharton.
So this is mano a mano warfare for Fernandes against Wharton and the experienced Jefferson Lerma. On the one hand, Fernandes needs to have his way with Lerma on the ball, and he is a smarter player than the Palace starter. And then on the other hand, he needs to be the one to aggressively and actively disrupt Wharton, blocking his passing lanes and bamboozling the young Englishman. If Fernandes can get the better of Wharton after bossing Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, then nobody can question his transfer fee again.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Mateus Fernandes has the chance to make the ultimate statement for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace .
