According to The Times, West Ham United have tabled an £18 million offer for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes. The Portuguese international has impressed onlookers with his performances on loan at Everton this season, attracting interest from a host of clubs across England.
West Ham, too, have joined the race, with Manuel Pellegrini identifying Gomes as his priority target this summer. However, the Hammers will face fierce competition from Everton and Tottenham Hotspur in the pursuit of the Barcelona midfielder.
What can Gomes offer to the table?
Primarily a central midfielder, Gomes is someone who likes to bring others into play with his impressive passing range. The 25-year-old is adept in quickly rotating possession with short passes.
He is also wholly composed on the ball, which allows him to carry the ball in half-spaces. And this makes him a useful midfielder, especially for teams that like to play with heaps of possession.
Gomes often tends to drive forward to link up with teammates and is always on the lookout for that defence-threading through pass. He is quite good at reading the game as well and having evolved under the possession-based style of football, Gomes has excellent positioning sense which allows him to stay one step ahead of the opposition.
Why Gomes will be an ideal signing for West Ham
It’s probably needless to say that West Ham have struggled with injuries throughout the 2018/19 campaign. The likes of Jack Wilshere, Manuel Lanzini, Pedro Obiang and Samir Nasri have all missed a chunk of the season due to their respective injuries.
The creative midfield trio of Nasri, Wilshere and Lanzini have all failed to exceed the 700-minute mark in the league. As a result, West Ham appeared overreliant on the services of veteran midfielder Mark Noble and wide-attacker Felipe Anderson in terms of creativity.
The addition of someone like Gomes, in that regard, will revamp West Ham’s options in the creative midfield department. The Portuguese international, as iterated earlier, has enjoyed immense success under Marco Silva in the recently concluded Premier League campaign. And his chance creation ability coupled with his ball circulation will spark new life to the Hammers midfield.
That being said, it’s unlikely Barcelona will agree with West Ham’s £18 valuation of Gomes, especially with Tottenham ready to splash £26 million for the star midfielder. Hence, the Irons may need to increase their offer if they are to have any hopes of signing the Barcelona star this summer.
