Everton will have to beat AS Roma and Lazio if they are to sign Andre Gomes on a permanent deal, as the Serie A rivals enter the race for his signature, according to CalcioMercato.
Gomes is currently on loan with the Toffees after struggling to establish himself at Barcelona, but has quickly become a fan favourite at Goodison Park.
As soon as he became established in the first-team, the 29-cap Portugal international added a greater sense of creativity in midfield, rather than Marco Silva’s side being forced to play everything through Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Silva has even gone on record stating the Merseyside outfit’s desires to keep the £25.2million-rated midfielder, per TransferMarkt, at Goodison Park beyond the current campaign, but he also acknowledged that there is no agreement to buy in Gomes’ loan deal.
If the Toffees are to buy Gomes from Barcelona then, the club will have to edge out Serie A duo Roma and Lazio, as the Italian sides are now looking to add the 25-year-old to their respective rosters in the summer.
The suggestion in CalcioMercato is that the city rivals will attempt to buy Gomes for around €20-30million (£17.3m-£25.9m), with Lazio lining the Portuguese up as a potential replacement for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, should the Serbian leave the club in the future.