West Ham United are eyeing a move to bring Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes to the London Stadium in the summer.
The Portuguese international has completed his one-year loan at Everton, where he made 29 appearances for the club.
According to The Times, the Hammers have made an offer in the region of £18 million for the 25-year-old midfielder.
Everton want to retain the Portuguese themselves, but Gomes looks likely to slip away from the Toffees’ grasp.
Why Gomes would be a brilliant addition to West Ham United
Gomes is a versatile player who features in central midfield and possesses the ability to play multiple roles from his position. The Portuguese can pull the strings from a defensive midfield position, or can play higher up the pitch, imposing a direct threat on the goal.
Pellegrini, who usually sets up his side in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1 formation with the team taking a 4-5-1 shape in the defensive phase, can use the Portuguese’ flexibility to his advantage.
Gomes can play different roles under the Chilean: he can slot in the double pivot or can be an attacking threat in the four-man midfield set-up.
The 25-year-old possess good dribbling skills, and can glide past players on the pitch, while his passing ability has seen a tremendous improvement ever since he left Camp Nou back in 2018.
Gomes likes to play ground-passes rather than hoofing the ball with every chance he gets, and mustered a spectacular 84.8% pass success rate.
Another exciting thing about the Portuguese is his off the ball movement which is as good, if not better, than his style of play with the ball at his feet. The 25-year-old has the awareness to slot into key areas on the pitch.
Gomes’ 6ft 2in frame also remains key when it comes to his holdup play as he shrugs off the opposition players with ease irrespective of where the play is developing on the pitch. However, his finishing remains a big concern, with Gomes only scoring one goal last season.
With an ageing Mark Noble and Declan Rice whose future remains uncertain, the addition of the likes of Gomes, who is fairly young and would add more quality to the midfield, would be a step in the right direction.
Stat Courtesy: Whoscored
