Everton supporters should have no cause for concern after the Liverpool Echo suggested Inter Milan and AS Roma are interested in the Barcelona-owned Andre Gomes.
The Serie A duo are said to be keeping tabs on the on-loan midfielder ahead of the upcoming window, while Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with interest in his services of late.
We, however, remain favourites to secure his signature once the summer market opens, even though Marcel Brands is yet to forge an agreement with the Catalan giants to acquire Gomes beyond his loan.
What may also prove tricky in retaining Gomes beyond our final game of the season against Spurs on Sunday, is that Barcelona proved to be a tricky outfit to work with last summer when we were negotiating deals to bring Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne to Goodison Park.
Mina, in particular, proved troublesome to secure, as Barca were intent on driving his price up on the back of excelling at the World Cup for Colombia. Brands, however, stuck to his guns and eventually finalised his £27.5m transfer on Deadline Day.
While we cannot yet rule out negotiations with the La Liga champions for Gomes stretching on towards this year’s Deadline Day, nor the Spanish outfit who crumbled in the Champions League holding out for an excessive figure, we can all but guarantee Roma and Inter will prove less troublesome in the race than Spurs.
Neither are flush with cash at present, and will likely have to part ways with their star players once the upcoming transfer window opens.
Roma, in particular, are in a dire situation, as failing to secure Champions League football for next season will see the Giallorossi’s American ownership look to make €45m to €50million (£38.6m to £42.9m) by cashing in on their prized assets.
Right now, that seems a very likely scenario, as the Stadio Olimpico outfit have only managed to win 16 of their 35 Serie A matches – enough to sit in sixth place, three points away from the UCL qualifying positions with three games to play.
Inter, on the other hand, are expected to raise funds via the sales of Joao Miranda, Yann Karamoh, and star man Ivan Perisic – the Nerazzurri value the Croatian winger at €40m (£34.3m).