Gomes wants Everton move over West Ham

Get it done and move onto the next one.

I do believe we are going to have to take a massive hit to rid ourselves of the deadwood, but they have to go. One way or another

If true, great news

West Ham have done us a big favour by going in with such low ball offers. I'll bet Barca were thinking 30 plus, but they may settle for 25 now

Kevin, Clubs and Officials are better informed than we ever are, and would have probably been well aware of the Gomes situation, and, if it came down to choice, they must also have been aware that Andre was always going to choose us.

Having said that, I am glad that we are not in a bidding war, as some mercenaries are happy to be at the centre of, meaning a bigger payday for the eventual winner.

I also hope too that we don't pay over the odds, which I can't see happening either, for the reasons stated before. While we all know he has added a new dimension to the midfield, his brainfart against Fulham (Mitrovic) showed a side which I personally hate to see in football.

His subsequent suspension for three games following that 'incident' proved that we could cope without him, but for some strange reason and I have stated it on here, that I believe a figure in the region of £23M will clinch the deal. Barca are desperate for funds to reinforce the squad, in a season which by their standards has fallen short of their high expectation.

Is it feasible that he knocks back all comers and says he will only sign for us or stay put, thus driving the price down?

I do like this Williams Carvalho fella. He's built like a brick outhouse, has great vision and passing ability. Not the fastest but next to Gomes and Gana that would be a powerful CM.

Who knows Kevin@3? Maybe Barca know Gomes wants to go to Everton, and they have used West Ham to hurry the deal up for them, and even try and inflate the price?

Thing is there Colin is that Sigurdsson would then need to be sacrificed to fit him in. And we would need to bring in better goalscorers than Bernard and Calvert Lewin to accommodate that

You're probably right Andrew. I've seen him a few times for club and country and he's always impressed me with his calmness, strength and reading of the game. He'd be a perfect replacement for Gana if he ever left.

Colin #6/9, he's a favorite of Steve Ferns as well. He is not, to say the least, one of mine. I guess you're watching him now against the Swiss, as I am.

To say he's "not the fastest" is like saying Bernard isn't the tallest. There are glaciers in the Alps that move faster than Carvalho. Besides, the position he would play currently belongs to Gomes, and we don't need two of those. He cannot replace Gana because he cannot tackle or intercept... he's a non-contributor defensively.

Let's get this business done soon, so we can build momentum and hopefully make progress on new incomings and transferring or loaning the deadwood.

Colin,
Are we thinking of the same William Carvalho? The Portuguese fellow? He's big but he loses the ball easily, doesn't get around very well either. I don't think he's anything like Gana. I've seen him play more club football than international.

I know it probably wont happen but if we pull off Munier, Rabbiot and Gomes and CB and a goalscorer we will be a completely different animal next season.

Of course it all depends on getting rid of a heck of a lot of players... and I'm not so sure its possible. It's also becoming apparent to me that Tom Davies might find limited game time, he'd do well to go out on loan. We also have Beni. I worry for the kids coming through but at the same time hopeful of Brands bringing in the quality we need to close the gap and compete now.

“Once Everton has touched you, nothing will be the same.” Alan Ball

He's been brilliant tonight David. Totally bossing the MF.

Mike G, funny you should mention glaciers there is a very famous one, aptly named the 'Schneiderlin Glacier'.

Be interesting to see if Siggy could move into a 3 and be disciplined? Then go with pace and power upfront fantasy time, but;

First 11

Pickford
Munier Keane Zouma Digne
Siggy Gana Gomes
Malcom DCL Richie

Second 11

Lössl
Coleman Holgate Gibson Baines
Davies Schneiderlin Bernard
Vlasic Henry Lookman

If we can sell enough of the others to fund a shit hot first team striker too, bonus.

Carvalho motm for me. Two-footed colossus.

Power to Everton.

One in the eye for everyone bemoaning Everton not ‘getting it done'

Strange Gomes don't get into this Portugal squad.

If Silva wants Gomes then why isn't he done already ?

Only thing I can think is in waiting a month or two we save £500/800k in wages, but it seems a bit risky.

Either Silva is sure that Gomes wont be swayed elsewhere or he isn't sure about signing him permanently.

More questions than answers really.

Si. International transfers can't be ratified til June 16th I think so it may well be that it's "done" but not announced. I believe if Silva wants him he'll be coming, just my feelings on it mind.

Having said that there are "agreed" international deals being announced by premier league clubs.

I think we got a good team that should be able to break into the top 6 if we get Gomes and Zouma. After that we need to think about depth and alternatives and maybe also an enhancement. We got some youth that needs to be tempered so we need to think twice before adding new names.

We were definitely watching two different guys, Colin.

I saw the Swiss racing past him time after time, unimpeded. (He did have a couple of timely fouls.) And all he did in midfield was tap the ball around. He wasn't involved in any of the goals. Wasn't even in that half of the field.

If we had any interest in Carvalho, I assume we would have moved for him last summer.

As for Gomes, these things often take time, even if all parties want to strike a deal. Barcelona will no doubt be trying to extract as much money as possible from us, so Brands will have to stand firm.

Im with you Mike,
I was certainly underwhelmed by Carvallo's performance tonight.

The bright lights of London or Merseyside - take that you doubters!
Probably got his eyes on property on the Costa d'Ainsdale.

Alan, or maybe the draw of Herhutz in County Road. I think he needs a good short back and sides. I heard that Gitouds wife had a bob there, then the transfer fell through

I'm surprised we haven't already gone in there with a 㿅 million bid for Gomes to just get this wrapped up and finally put to bed.

I don't think anyone thought he was going to West Ham, but it could get twitchy for us if Spurs come in with a bid of 㿀-25 million.

If we do want Gomes let's just hurry up and get this done.

There's exactly two months to the closure of the transfer window, we still need to shift at least half a dozen players out from the club and then bust our bollocks to try and sign Zouma ( more of a priority than Gomes for me) and a goalscoring centre forward.

The calmer you are the better you do Jim, and I would be very surprised if Gomes doesn't end up at Everton.

Alan (26), and Cosco on the dock road, not far from our new ground.

Shaqiri would be an incredible buy but my guess is zero chance.

Martin, stop being naughty.

Martin

Shaqiri sailed on the same ship as Yarmolenko in summer 2015 when Bobby Martinez tried to sign both of them but didn't happen for one reason or another.

Brian, he was marvellous last night and looked to be exactly what we need in the front line. Do you think he's off limits? We've had some great buys from the RS and if we could just steal him.

Jim, I didn't realise quite how good he was at that time.

Jim@28 there is no hurry. I fully expect that Gomes has told Barcelona he has his heart set on us and Brands knows that. We just have to wait for Barca to lose their nerve and accept an offer nearer 㿀m rather than the 㿊m they want.

Of course if West Ham or Spurs bid 㿊m then that could make life more difficult but personally i'd not want to pay more than 㿅m for him. Wolves managed to get Ruben Neves for only 㾼m! Granted they have the tie-up with his agent but still it shows that there are great players out there at good value, this is what Brands must seek out.

On a seperate note Carvalho is certainly not a Gana replacement. If anything he would be a Schneiderlin upgrade.

Sam

I agree I don't think he'll go to West Ham, though he would go to Spurs, my worry is with Christian Erikson wanting to leave there, they might be looking for reinforcements for midfield.

Martin

There was never any doubts about the talents of Shaqiri, or Yarmolenko for that matter, just a question of attitude but I think both players are very good.

Its been a shame Yarmolenko has been injured this season because I think he's been a massive loss to West Ham judging by the way he was just getting into stride in September (he was excellent against us at Goodison).

Great, if we can get zouma (not sure that will happen with their ban) then we have to get goal scorers on board. Particularly a number 9. Genuinely not sure there is much out there though.

Dan

I think it's imperative that we find more goals in the team, whether that means signing them or coaching more from the likes of Bernard ect.

I still worry that on a consistent basis we lack firepower outside of Richy and Siggy, nobody else got near double figures.

Dan, Jim agree with that, however we need to be meticulous about who we sign [if we sign such a player]. We do need more goals outside of Sigg and Richie, but Bernard and DCL contribute a hell of a lot.

Displacing either with someone who can get 10 goals may not take us any further forward if they don't do some of the intense defensive press work too, to the level Bernard and DCL have been doing.

It will be interesting to see who we sign but I'm not ruling out Bernard and DCL starting to score more regularly in a stable team. I hoping to see them two get 20 between them next season.

Agree. We need to unearth a 20 goal a season man. There must be one somewhere hiding in all these big squads with players who are loaned out. You only have to look at the players Chelsea let go who had been out on loan. DCLs game has come on loads and I think it is clear he is working with Duncan on his hold up play. He works hard. I just am not sure he is our 20 goal a season player. Hope am wrong of course!

Zouma the priority, then Gomes

The Costa De Ainsdale will welcome him with open arms. Not for us the F N Red Belt area of Birkdale - splitters.

Chelsea will not allow Zouma to leave on a ‘permanent' basis.

Interesting, you can read that any way you wish.

Another loan deal with a recall clause?

Ray, is that a direct quote from anywhere?

I wonder if we would be tempted to take Zouma again on loan if that were the only option (presumably with no purchase clause)?

It could be effective whilst we wait for Mina to settle properly and Holgate/Feeney/Gibson to develop. Though on the other hand I hate developing players for other clubs if they have no intention of selling them. Much may depend on how their appeal turns out and indeed who the new Chelsea manager is if the rumours about Sarri leaving are true.

I do think that Andres Gomes will sign for us, but as sometimes is the case that the formalities do tend to drag out, before confirmation can officially be given that a signing has been completed.

But however, I do think come the start of the season that he will be an Everton player. I am confident of that.

As for Kurt Zouma, I do hope we can sign him, but it seems the situation is somewhat difficult at present. Chelsea are trying to appeal against a transfer ban and the frustration for them is that if their ban can't be overturned, then they won't as yet be able to touch a penny of the potential transfer of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.

Recently on Sky Sports website there was mention that Real Madrid have agreed a deal in principle to sign him for £88 million plus add-ons.

And then there is Maurizio Sarri, as there may be a possibility of him becoming manager at Juventus. Nothing seems official yet, but if he left then its seeking a replacement.

If we are to sign Kurt Zouma, it is going to take some hard negotiating with Chelsea. I really hope we can pull off a permanent deal, as he would be a brilliant addition to the team.

As for Richarlison, for one so young at 21 I think he is a fantastic talent and is progressing well both for club and country. He had a decent season scoring 14 goals and I do think he could have the potential to score more.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored 8 goals in the season just gone, but at 22 perhaps the upcoming season is when he makes the breakthrough and scores 13-15 goals. In that respect I feel he needs to up his game and if the work with Duncan Ferguson pays off then I can see that happening.

However, I do agree with you Dan@42 that there is need for a 20 goal a season man, as we need to strengthen our attack up front. There is one somewhere and it's just a case of finding him. I would like to think that Marco Silva and Marcel Brands, currently have a few targets in mind.

Sam 46

Probably media.

Incidentally here is a scouting report on Ibrahim Sangare, a midfielder I've liked for some time and spoke about in my recent transfer targets article:

Link

An excellent, complete player who could be a real force in midfield if coached well. Really hope he is high up on Brands' list. He could play with or instead of Gueye and is possibly a cheaper alternative to Gomes if Barcelona don't lower their price.

An interesting one Sam, for the price and his age he may represent some value, especially if he can develop with good coaching. I bet Doucoure would cost double that and he is 27 on Jan 1st. so will not have a higher resale value.

Sounds like Sangare fits the Brands criteria and wouldn't surprise me if we make an offer.

Si 20 & Jim 28,

I read an interview with Brands recently where he talked about dealing with Barce last summer. It was a long process of brinkmanship with them touting supposed interest and higher offers from other clubs in Mina. He said he held firm and basically waited for them to cave when the supposed other bids came to nothing. Can't help but think the Spurs/West Ham links are the same kind of thing going on now with Gomez.

Ray #45 that is very true, I have been told we only want him back on a 12-month loan deal as his knee is still a cause for concern.

If we sign this bloke we'll just stagnate... another Schneiderlin in the making!