Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are reportedly set to go indulge in a shock head-to-head battle to sign Andre Gomes from Barcelona.
According to a report in Daily Mirror, Andre Gomes is the subject of a deadline day transfer tug of war that is brewing in London. Tottenham and West Ham are interested in the Barcelona midfielder and are set to go head-to-head to land him before the transfer window slams shut.
Gomes joined Barcelona last summer following a fruitful two-year spell with Valencia. However, the move to Camp Nou has been far from it for the Portuguese midfielder as he has failed to establish himself as a regular fixture in the first-team setup.
Gomes managed to start just 25 times in all competitions last season, having had to share game time with the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Denis Suarez, Rafinha and Andres Iniesta all through the campaign. With regular starts coming few and far between, his performances took a hit as he managed to bag just 3 goals and a solitary assist.
Tottenham and West Ham are gearing up for a deadline day tug-of-war over Barcelona star André Gomes. (Source: Daily Mirror) pic.twitter.com/44Japq7dLA
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) August 30, 2017
The player could now be set to leave Barcelona after just one season with reports claiming that he does not feature in Ernesto Valverde’s plans for the season. Sergi Roberto’s reinstatement as a midfielder in addition to Paulinho’s arrival has seen Gomes fall down the pecking order.
Thus, a move away from Camp Nou is on the cards for the Portugal international. As per the Mirror, he is attracting interest from the Premier League, with West Ham and Tottenham keen on signing him before the transfer window slams shut.
The Hammers have been tailing William Carvalho for the last few weeks. But, their pursuit of the Sporting Lisbon midfielder seems to have run into troubled waters, forcing Slaven Bilic to turn his attention towards Gomes, with midfield being a priority for him.
Mauricio Pochettino has also identified midfield as a key area to reinforce after bolstering defence from the addition of Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth. At the centre of the park though, he has little to choose from beyond Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama.
West Ham in talks with Barca over Andre Gomes. Hoping to structure a free loan deal where we guarantee he will play 70% of games.
[Mail] pic.twitter.com/VeJKtPfilY
— West Ham News (@WHUFC_News) August 31, 2017
With Tottenham set to compete on four fronts this season, squad depth is an issue Pochettino is trying to address before the transfer window closes. Thus, the Argentine is set to make a deadline day move for Gomes.
Meanwhile, West Ham are plotting a loan move for the 24-year-old, an option that Barcelona are more eager to sanction as they are unlikely to secure a large transfer fee at this juncture of the window.
The move to the East London club would provide Gomes the chance to secure more regular game time as compared to Tottenham, where Dembele, Wanyama and Dier are pivotal figures. With the World Cup less than a year away, the player could, thus, choose West Ham over their more illustrious London rivals.
It now remains to be seen if Gomes indeed moves away from Barcelona on deadline day, and if the move is temporary or permanent.
