Transfer story
After being in hibernation for the nearly three months, Tottenham Hotspur have suddenly managed to complete a few deals that’ll improve their squad strength. The departure of Kyle Walker left a hole in the right-back slot but Serge Aurier’s move from PSG seems like a good deal as they have signed a similar player by making a nice profit.
Spurs have largely managed to sign defensive players and you get the feeling that their attack and midfield needs some freshness. With a few more hours to go before the deadline day closes, Tottenham want to add Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes, according to Sky Sports.
Gomes has grown increasingly disillusioned at Barcelona despite just spending a year or so at Camp Nou as the club doesn’t seem to trust the midfielder to get the job done. After an underwhelming first season at the club, Gomes doesn’t seem to have a direction and his gametime is expected to remain meagre under new manager Ernesto Valverde.
After signing Paulinho, which in itself was a surprise, Gomes’ gametime could further diminish.
Player stats
You can’t really blame Gomes for his subpar debut season as he wasn’t afforded enough gametime. Barcelona rarely wanted to experiment with their midfield and playing XI despite looking at the future and signing a heap of young players in Lucas Digne, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes and Samuel Umtiti.
The Portuguese international made 30 appearances last season but most of those were from the bench. He had a pretty good passing percentage at 88% but was often lacking creatively as he managed just 13 key passes.
He wasn’t among the goals either as he managed just three in the La Liga. However, he isn’t known for his goalscoring and known more for his passing and athletic ability in the midfield. When you compare the aforementioned stats to those he managed in Valencia, it isn’t all that different, which shows it’s not the player’s problem and rather the manager who wasn’t able to use him effectively enough. (Source: Squawka.com)
What will Gomes add to Tottenham?
A good passer of the ball, Gomes can play a box to box role, essentially the one that Dembele is doing at the moment. Of course, he still has a long way to go before he can be compared to the Belgian, but he is still only 24 and has time on his side to improve.
Considering what he’s managed in international colours as well, he would definitely be a better buy than Ross Barkley.