Fenerbahce could rescue Everton’s forgotten man Andre Gomes from his Premier League stupor ahead of the close of the Turkish transfer window this week.
If the £30 million signing from Barcelona was hoping that a superb loan spell at Lille would be enough to catapult him back into Sean Dyche’s Goodison Park thinking, a grand total of zero minutes from Everton’s first five games of 2023/24 felt like a brutal reality check.
Andre Gomes was conspicuous by his absence once again; Everton playing out an enthralling 2-2 draw with Sheffield United before the international break; Idrissa Gana Gueye, Andre Onana, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Garner all ahead of him in Dyche’s pecking order.
And while the close of the Saudi Arabian window might have shut off one potential exit route, Turkey’s own transfer window remains open until Friday. A move to Fenerbahce now feels like Gomes’ best shot at securing regular first-team football this season.
Andre Gomes could leave Everton for Turkey
According to A Spor, Gomes has been ‘recommended’ to Fenerbahce. The report does not explain how the Istanbul-based outfit feel about offering the former Benfica and Valencia man a fresh start. But Fener boss Ismail Kartal is desperate to bring in a new ‘number six’ and Gomes fits the bill.
“We are working now. We are doing our best (to bring in reinforcements),” Kartal says.
The Portugal international will become a free-agent in 2024. Everton are unlikely to stand in Gomes’ way should Fenerbahce take the bait; his £120,000-a-week wages a considerable drain on the Toffees’ already dwindling resources.
Gomes was labelled a ‘magnificent’ talent during his spell at Lille in 2022/23. The Ligue 1 outfit could not afford to turn his loan into a permanent transfer, however.
“Andre is a boy with whom we have remained in contact,” Lille president Olivier Letang tells Le11 Lillois. “We knew that the economic framework (of a deal) was very complex for us. Andre – and good for him – has a rather substantial contract at Everton.
“The conditions have not been met to ensure that Andre continues the adventure with us.
“I think it will be very complicated. It is an economic framework which is difficult, and which is not possible for us.”
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