Former West Ham man scores huge Champions League goal five years after £8m Hammers exit

There was something of a blast from the past for West Ham United supporters during a stellar week of Champions League action.

While Liverpool hammered Bayer Leverkusen on Xabi Alonso’s Anfield return, while Arsenal’s poor recent form continued with a 1-0 reverse at Inter Milan, and while Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were stunned on their own turf, it’s fair to say those setting the pace at the top of this revamped format were hardly amongst the pre-tournament favourites.

It is only Liverpool keeping Sporting Lisbon – destroyers of Manchester City in a real statement performance for new United boss Ruben Amorim – off the top spot.

Monaco and Borussia Dortmund are also lodged amongst the leading eight clubs, too. As are a Stade Brestois outfit who are making Champions League football look like child’s play on their first ever venture into the Europe’s elite club competition.

Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Slavia Prague ensured Brest have 10 points from a possible 12. It was a former West Ham United player, meanwhile, who put the unfancied Frenchman one giant step towards the knockout stages in the Czech capital.

And talk about an unlikely hero.

Former West Ham man Edimilson Fernandes inspires Champions League win

When The Hammers sold Edimilson Fernandes to Mainz in an £8 million deal during the summer of 2019, they did so in the knowledge that they could not offer the youngster regular first-team action in the heart of a midfield containing rising star Declan Rice, big-money signing Pablo Fornals, and an evergreen Mark Noble.

A certain Tomas Soucek would also arrive at the London Stadium midway through that campaign.

Five years on, Rice is not the only former Hammers midfielder now testing his mettle on the biggest of European stages.

Fernandes, 28 years of age these days and a regular in the Swiss national team, even opened the scoring as Brest edged out Slavia 2-1 away from home.

And to say he is hardly a regular on the scoresheet would be an understatement. Fizzing home from the edge of the box to give Brest the lead in Prague, this was Fernandes’ first goal since he found the net for BSC Young Boys against Luzern back in 2021/22.

Talk about a good time to end your drought.

Eric Roy’s Brest continue to prove the doubters wrong in Europe

“I think [my team] were capable of producing these performances. What is surprising is to have 10 points after four matches, in the Champions League, a competition that Brest has never played in!,” a delighted head coach Eric Roy told reporters at full-time.

“That’s obviously exceptional and it gives me a lot of pride to coach these boys.”

Roy admits that he chose to start the 6ft 1ins, defensively-minded Fernandes in order to beef up the Brest midfield; opting for muscle over manoeuvrability. The former West Ham prospect would have bene expected to shore things up in the centre of the park, and he certainly did just that.

But a goal – a very, very rare goal – was an unexpected cherry on top of Eric Roy’s cake.

“[We knew Slavia Prague] could cause us problems, with their big build, their athleticism. The influence it had wasn’t on our system, or on our way of playing, but in my choices,” the Brest boss adds. “I wanted to make my midfield bigger, with Edimilson Fernandes rather than Hugo Magnetti.

“I had to adapt in my choice of players.”

As the man currently in the West Ham dugout fights to save his job – Julen Lopetegui could finally come unstuck against The Toffees of Everton this weekend – he could do with making a few visionary calls like the one which added another chapter to Brest’s remarkable Champions League success story.