While Mundo Deportivo claiming that Barcelona will sell Andre Gomes for as little as €20million (£17.3m) may be seen as great news on Merseyside, the Catalan newspaper’s report is not the end of our fight and fans cannot get too carried away.
That’s because the Barcelona-based publication add that the La Liga leaders have only set that as the base amount they would be after, and would prefer to sell to whoever the highest bidder may be.
We also do not have an option to buy Gomes for that, or any price, and the loan agreement we reached with Barca last year only included an opportunity to make an offer for the Portuguese midfielder.
If Tottenham follow through with their reported interest, we would then have to usurp their bid to secure Gomes’ future in the Premier League, and that would be well above the €20m Mundo are citing.
Recent claims have suggested the North London side are considering making a £30million move for Gomes, with Chairman Daniel Levy planning to use our final day trip to their new stadium as one last scouting mission on the 29-cap international.
Gomes will likely play in that game, too, as his suspension will be over by the time the squad board the team coach and head down south.
Hopefully, Marcel Brands can use the Portuguese’s time away from the first-team as a chance to sit down with the player and Barcelona to see where our chances of securing his future lie.
If our Director of Football likes what he hears from those discussions, he can see if the Catalan outfit would be tempted to sanction the transfer there and then, or go to Levy and see if he is willing to bid without his last-ditch scouting mission.
Should Levy agree and put down a £30m marker, though, Brands must go back to the drawing board and see if there is anyone else on his shortlist who could come in for a lower fee.
Gomes’ Toffees record could end with one goal and one assist from 28 games, in which he played six key passes in the Premier League, if he does not play against Spurs.