Everton on the verge of landing Andre Gomes from Barcelona
Everton are reportedly close to wrapping up the signature of midfielder Andre Gomes from Barcelona. The Portugal international was impressive during his season-long loan with the Toffees during the previous campaign and that has enticed the Merseyside outfit to negotiate a permanent move for his signature this summer.
According to AS, the Toffees are currently under advanced negotiations with the Blaugrana for the services of the former Valencia man and they are confident of agreeing a fee of around £22m for the permanent transfer of the midfielder. It had previously been claimed that Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan could offer strong competition in the pursuit of the Portuguese, but it appears that the Toffees have received a clear route with the player preferring a return to familiar surroundings next term.
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As such, the Merseyside outfit appear keen on landing a permanent move for his services but that is dependent on the Blaugrana, who are also evaluating interest from elsewhere for the midfielders. Speaking to O Jogo, the Toffees head coach said: “There is a Portuguese player in the squad that we want, which is Andre Gomes.
In a report covered by Sky Sports, Silva said that the Toffees have a great respect for the forthcoming opposition but expects his team to produce a strong performance against them, he said: “Even if we have big respect for Man United, with the quality they have, not just individual quality but as a team also, it’s up us playing at home. I’m 100 per cent sure if we’re at our best level, we’ll be tough for them. I don’t have doubts about that. If we can reach the same level we played the last three home games, it will be really tough for them and it’s something I want, it’s my desire, our desire as a team, to see again at Goodison our team playing at that level.”
As such, Gueye was left extremely disappointed with the situation and he has now opened up regarding the same in an exclusive interview with L’Equipe. Speaking to the French publication, Gueye admitted that he has the dream of playing for an elite team in the Champions League and that was not fulfilled with Les Parisiens last month.
Speaking in a press conference at USM Finch Farm, Silva has admitted that he was pleased with the team’s overall showing against the Mancunian giants and he wants a similar kind of performance when they make the trip to Watford for the weekend fixture, where they will be aiming to return to winning ways.
Owing to this, there has been speculation linking the Toffees with multiple players especially in the forward department but Brands has said that the chance of pursuing recruits in the window remain minimal, he quipped: “We don’t have big plans. It’s a very difficult period to bring players in. We don’t want to let our best players go, also other clubs don’t. I’m more focused on the summer window than the January window. If we sell or loan players, then maybe we have to do something, and if we do something, it has to be good.”
Speaking after the game, Silva was elated with the performance of the team and welcomed the fan support at Turf Moor following the dampening home loss to Spurs, he said: “The first thing I’d like to say is this is for our fans and our players. The fans welcomed our players before the match, which is fantastic after a tough result on Sunday. And the players as well, they deserve this. It was a good win for us and now is the moment to rest and prepare for the other quick games.”