Everton transfer news: Andre Gomes in frame to join ‘Saudi exodus’ amid possible answer to Sean Dyche headache
Andre Gomes is attracting “tentative” transfer interest from Saudi Arabia with a possible Everton exit on the cards, according to Mail Plus.
The Portuguese midfielder spent last season on loan in Ligue 1 with Lille after falling out of favour at Goodison Park, and the French club are again in the frame to sign him this summer.
The 30-year-old has a year left on his deal, signed after making a £22million move from Barcelona four years ago but his Everton career has never really recovered from the serious injury he suffered playing against Tottenham on 3 November 2019 [Sky Sports].
The Liverpool Echo (6 July) described him, along with fellow injury-hit midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Dele Alli as “deadwood” that was proving “tricky to shift” as high-earners that the club wanted to get off the wage bill, describing the situation as a “major headache” that Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell had inherited.
Now, according to Simon Jones in his Transfer Confidential for The Mail (31 July) the 29-cap international could join the “Saudi exodus to help out” his manager.
Gomes is considered “likely to move on” amid the interest from Saudi clubs and Lille this summer.
Answer at last?
If Gomes has little prospect of being involved under Dyche then the club managing to get him a move for the final year of his deal is the obvious objective.
Getting his wages off the books would be useful in light of the financial pressures at the club, and if there is a transfer fee from Saudi Arabia on the cards it has to be seen as a bonus.
Lille’s president Olivier Letang had suggested that Everton now had their eye on a more lucrative exit for Gomes that would price the French side out [Le Petit Lillois, 14 July].
And in a summer where huge money has suddenly arrived to take some unwanted Premier League players off the hands of multiple clubs, that would fit the description when it comes to the Everton man.
In 27 appearances for Lille last term he clearly did enough for them to be interested in keeping him so perhaps some decent money might be on the cards if concrete bids arrive from the Middle East.
Whether he wants to join the growing contingent of departures from European football to the Saudi Pro League might be another matter, but from an Everton point of view it would appear to be the ideal outcome at this stage.
In other Everton news, Manchester United are now looking at signing another “surprise” name from the Toffees first team.