Newcastle United have identified one defining quality in Matias Fernandez-Pardo that persuaded them to spend £51m on the Belgian winger. His former coach at Gent, Arnar Vidarsson, has pinpointed exactly what makes the 21-year-old so valuable to the Premier League club.
He is very explosive, very fast. He has this unbelievable power.That assessment from Vidarsson, who worked with Fernandez-Pardo before his move to Lille, carries real weight. The Icelandic coach sees striking parallels with another Belgian talent who has become a Premier League sensation.
You could compare him a little bit to Jeremy Doku. They have a similar profile,Vidarsson explains.
It is that power, that speed, that ability to go past people without needing space.The trademark Doku move—slowing a defender before suddenly accelerating away—is something Fernandez-Pardo has mastered too.
Matias can go past people in one or two metres because of this explosiveness.
The Belgian's evolution into a wide forward rather than a pure winger has been crucial to his development. Vidarsson believes his best position lies through the middle.
In my opinion, his best position is central. That is how he scored most of his goals and how Lille scouted him in his last season with Gent.
His breakthrough came with remarkable speed. Fernandez-Pardo made his full league debut in March 2024 and played his final game for Gent that August. A run of eight goals in 11 games forced Lille's hand.
The coach started to use him as a striker. Before that, he had always been on the wing. He made a good decision because Matias started to score a lot. After that spell playing centrally, there was big interest in him.
According to Sky Sports, Fernandez-Pardo scored 8 goals in 29 Ligue 1 matches for Lille last season and had earned 5 caps for Belgium. Across all competitions in 2025/26, he made 40 appearances, scoring 8 goals and providing 6 assists.
Vidarsson's relationship with the player stretches back further than his first-team emergence. As talent manager and development squad coach at Gent, the FIFA coach development official watched Fernandez-Pardo grow from a quiet, family-supported youngster into a match-day threat.
His relationship with his father was strong. His father was all in, basically his assistant, driving him everywhere and taking good care of him. Matias did not talk too much.On the pitch, however, he was a different proposition.
The young winger's early years with Gent's second team revealed areas needing refinement.
His decision-making on the wing was not always the best. That is something that Doku, for example, also had when he was at Anderlecht.Vidarsson is careful to note this assessment came years earlier.
Players develop. But he was going past people and not knowing when to cross, when to cut inside, when to go outside, when to find space in behind. And sometimes he did not have the mentality to run for the team.
The coach attributes this partly to Fernandez-Pardo outgrowing the reserve team level.
That is typical of a young player who was being asked to go from the first team to play for the second team.The opportunity he craved arrived in early 2024 when Gent's attacking ranks were depleted. Malick Fofana and Gift Orban both departed for Lyon, while Hugo Cuypers joined Chicago Fire.
That freed up the space for Matias to play.
His subsequent move to Lille that summer represented a significant step forward.
I think it was a great move for him to go to Lille,Vidarsson reflects. After a promising first season adjusting to French football, Fernandez-Pardo played a key role in helping Lille qualify for the Champions League, a remarkable achievement that has left some observers surprised by his eagerness to depart.
According to The Athletic, Newcastle agreed a fee with Lille worth approximately €60m (£51.4m) plus add-ons, with personal terms on a five-year deal not expected to pose difficulties. The move was closing in on 31 August 2026, with the player expected to travel to Newcastle to complete formalities.
Vidarsson himself urges caution about immediate expectations on Tyneside.
I would say they are taking, not a risk, but let's say giving him an opportunity,he says diplomatically.
He has the potential but I really do believe that he will need one season to adapt before he can shine and become a top player in the Premier League. Because everything in the Premier League is faster, more intense. Everything there happens at a faster tempo.
The appointment of Matthias Jaissle as Newcastle manager could work in Fernandez-Pardo's favour. Vidarsson believes the vertical style of play could suit the Belgian, particularly if he is deployed in the channels rather than confined to the wing.
It will probably always be better for Matias to play in a system as one of two strikers. Because of his speed, he needs space. On the wing, you can direct him in one direction and then he becomes a little easier to mark.
That tactical flexibility may evolve as Fernandez-Pardo settles into his new surroundings. His potential to
grow into a bigger club, into a bigger environmentat Newcastle represents a significant opportunity for development.
The World Cup presented a missed opportunity for the Belgian international, who was restricted to just three substitute appearances. Eager to move beyond that frustration, he has pushed for the club transfer he desired and the chance to test himself in the Premier League.
There remains much to learn and much to prove. Yet Newcastle supporters have genuine reason for optimism. Not because Fernandez-Pardo is a finished product—he is not—but because his raw attributes suggest he can become one.
What he has, of course, is that special thing that a lot of clubs are looking for in modern football, that speed, that ability to go past people and do something in small spaces. He has those attributes and they are really difficult to create. You are just born with it.
What happens next
According to Sky Sports, the transfer was expected to be completed before the Tuesday deadline, with medicals and final paperwork the remaining steps. Newcastle were set to finalise the move once Fernandez-Pardo arrived in the city and underwent his medical examination.
