Tottenham Hotspur are said to remain keen on signing Barcelona’s Andre Gomes.
According to the latest reports from The Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino remains keen on signing Barcelona’s Andre Gomes, and will go head-to-head with West Ham United for his signature this summer.
Spurs were said to be on the verge of signing the Portugal international last summer, with a season-long deal reported by the Daily Mail expected to be followed by a permanent £40 million switch.
After missing out on him then, it is reported that Pochettino is determined to get his man – and Gomes’ disappointing spell in Barcelona could see him eager to move to the Premier League.
On the face of it, signing a Barcelona player currently out of favour has worked well for clubs in the past – Thiago has been a hit at Bayern Munich, while Alexis Sanchez excelled at Arsenal before joining Manchester United.
But do Tottenham actually need the former Valencia man? His inconsistent form over the past few seasons suggests not.
Tottenham currently boast an array of attacking talent in the final third, with Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Heung-Min Son, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela all vying for spots behind striker Harry Kane.
Where the North London club have room for extra competition is in the middle of the park, where only Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama are the club’s main protagonists for the two holding spots.
Belgium international Dembele is the epitome of Pochettino’s ideal midfielder – strong in the tackle, quick at covering ground, willing to press, comfortable in possession and can drive forward with the ball.
With the former Fulham man turning 31 this summer, the club need to start looking for his long-term successor – but Gomes simply isn’t the answer as he’s a completely different type of player. The 24-year-old has age on his side and is versatile, but on the contrary he is weak in the tackle and his inability to link-up well with the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic often frustrates Barca supporters.
Gomes’ best season of his career to date came at Valencia, but even then he averaged just 1.8 tackles, 1.3 successful dribbles and 0.8 key passes per league encounter (Whoscored).
Tottenham could do better than be tempted into buying a player whose best asset might just be that he has Barcelona on his CV.
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