Transfer Story:
It hurts to see a footballer go through mental pressure and trauma at a big club. The fans usually put a lot of pressure and hence the margin of error decreases substantially. Especially if the player was involved in an expensive transfer, then the stakes are usually high and more often than not players end up justifying their price tag. One of the recent players to have failed considerably at a new and big club is Andre Gomes.
Ever since making his big money move from Valencia to FCB ahead of the last season, big things were expected from the Portuguese midfielder. However, even after spending quite a long time at the club, he has failed to perform consistently and has often been bashed for his lacklustre performances off late. Now in a recent interview given by the player, he has confessed that life at Barcelona has become hell and he finds it difficult to even get out of his house as the Portuguese lad is ashamed of his performances too.
Gomes and the hype:
Andre Gomes is essentially a midfielder, but his best role is yet unknown at Barcelona. Both Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde have failed to assign proper positions to him and Gomes has been moved around quite a bit. He has a good technique on the ball and can carry the ball forward from deep areas.
His passing is accurate too and he tends to pick the correct teammate at the precise point of time. Gomes has a strong built and does not shy away from moving back to help his defenders whenever required. Accordingly, he has the quality and the skills to excel as a box-to-box player.
What’s wrong with the lad then?
For a player of his talent, Andre Gomes is incredibly short of confidence. He has been giving away balls in dangerous positions and is seemingly disturbed at the moment. Barcelona just signed Philippe Coutinho and hence the chances of Gomes breaking into the first team regularly are realistically over. The former Valencia player has failed to prove his doubters wrong and despite spending a lot of time at Camp Nou, he flatters to deceive most of the times.
Tottenham Hotspur calling:
Reportedly, the Mauricio Pochettino managed club is interested in acquiring Andre Gomes’ services from this summer. From my perspective, this deal makes a lot of sense, to be honest. Gomes is not a bad player, contrary to the popular opinion. It is just that he has been overawed by the expectations and lack of time given to him to adapt completely at Barcelona.
Also, Barcelona has changed their stance on youth players and in the pursuit of success, they tend to ignore the starlets to make room for their superstars. Pochettino knows how to handle young players and can build up the confidence and mental strength that Andre Gomes seems to lack currently. It is definitely a deal that would benefit all the parties involved.