According to the Sun, Tottenham Hotspur are keen to make a bid for Portuguese playmaker Andre Gomes who is currently on loan at Everton from his parent club Barcelona.
Gomes is on a season-long loan deal and the Toffees do not have a buy clause included in that but Barcelona can terminate the loan deal if the Lilywhites table a substantial offer in January.
Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his interest in the 25-year-old and has made it clear that he wants to freshen up the squad with a few new faces in January after having failed to land any of his targets in the summer. (h/t Sun)
Gomes has stated that he feels at home in Merseyside and the Toffees are keen to make his stay permanent in January after some impressive displays in the midfield, claims the Daily Star.
Everton completed a triple raid on Barcelona in the summer with Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina also moving to Goodison Park on permanent deals. However, the Toffees might find it hard to ward off interest from Spurs should they opt to sign him permanently.
The Euro 2016 winner has rediscovered his mojo in the Premier League after struggling to adapt to life at Barcelona. He arrived at Goodison Park with a pre-sustained injury which kept him on the sidelines for more than a couple of months before he eventually made his debut against Crystal Palace
Gomes has changed the whole complexion of Everton’s midfield in recent weeks. Marco Silva was struggling to find an ideal partner for Idrissa Gana Gueye in central midfield earlier in the season but Gomes has emerged as the answer to the manager’s woes.
The 25-year-old has added plenty of tenacity and stability to the Toffees’ midfield, dictating the tempo of the game with his wonderful range of passing and making valuable recoveries to win back possession for his team.
He was a bit hesitant to be adventurous in the first few games but the Portuguese maestro has really taken his game to a new level in recent weeks, taking on the opposition with his dribbling skills and contributing to the attack with his powerful driving runs forward. To sum it up, Gomes has established the perfect link between the defence and attack and has also improved Everton’s cohesion in the final third.
As a matter of fact, Gomes averages 59.4 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 85.9, including 4.5 successful long balls and 2 tackles per game, figures which speak volumes of his all-around ability as a central midfielder.
To put things into perspective, Spurs can strike gold if they can somehow snap him up from Everton’s grasp as the 25-year-old has all that it takes to replace Mousa Dembele.
Dembele, 31, is set to head for the exit door upon the expiry of his contract next summer while Victor Wanyama is another player who is linked with a move away from the club in January (h/t Sun), leaving Pochettino with only Eric Dier and Harry Winks as options in central midfield.
Pochettino has preferred a diamond formation in recent weeks with Christian Eriksen playing in a deeper role alongside Moussa Sissoko to add substance to the deep midfield. However, the signing of Gomes will allow the Danish playmaker to play in a more advanced role. Another way of looking at it is that the statuesque Eric Dier will have a much more mobile partner in central midfield to help him cut out the counter attacks.
That said, Spurs should go all out to land Andre Gomes in January as he can definitely make the Lilywhites realistic title contenders.