Barcelona have been swift in their business this summer transfer period as they have wrapped up four signings before the start of their preseason games. The latest being Andre Gomes from Valencia who recently was one of the star performers to Portugal's miraculous victory at the Euros. Gomes joins Dennis Suarez, Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne as the new faces in the squad for the next campaign.
These names reflect that the club is building a squad for the future as all these signings are from a similar age group, between 22-24 which will complement well with the existing experienced squad. The Catalan giants paid £29 million up front to Valencia while a further £13 million, will have to be paid if he plays and wins trophies at the club. Barcelona also have to cough up £4 million to Benfica which takes the total up to £46 million to secure the services of Andre Gomes.
Gomes is an exceptional talent and his former coach at Valencia, Gary Neville touted him as the one to watch out for and also expected him to become one of the best midfielders in the coming years.
Let's take a look at five things which are interesting about Barca's and Portugal's latest sensation, Andre Gomes :
#1 An experienced campaigner in La Liga
Still at 22 years of age, Gomes has had two full seasons under his belt in the La Liga and also has played for Benfica, making 41 appearances for the Portuguese giants. He was included in the Europa League team of the year during his time for the Encarnados.
At Valencia, Gomes made 78 outings in two seasons under four managers and played against Barcelona five times during that period. With an international tournament under his belt now, the youngster has a lot of experience at the highest level at such a young age.
#2 A versatile midfielder who can operate in a number of positions
Gomes' favoured position can be said to be the left side midfield in a three man midfield, at which the club has Andres Iniesta and now Dennis Suarez at their disposal. But it seems his competition will be against Ivan Rakitic. However, he can effectively play anywhere in the midfield.
Addition to that, he can play as a left winger and provide able cover to Neymar. Gomes can dribble and his ability to play equally good with both feet is a quality hard to find in the modern footballing world.
#3 Played for both of Portugal's bitter rivals: FC Porto and Benfica
Though the 22-year-old made his name at Benfica where he won one Superleague, one Portuguese Cup and a League Cup, Gomes started his footballing education in the illustrious FC Porto academy. He was at Porto's famed academy for three years before leaving due to lack of opportunities at the club and joined Porto's rivals Benfica, making his senior debut at the age of 19.
#4 A brilliant deep lying playmaker
Along with his surging runs ahead and the fact that he is unusually tall for a player at its position standing at 1.88m, Gomes is an exemplary passer of the ball and likes to dictate the tempo of the game, be it playing from the centre of the park or as a left side winger who likes to drift inside.
The young star made 1293 passes last season with an impressive passing percentage of 81.5%. His best performances came at the Euros where he had a passing percentage of 82.5% and also grabbed an assist for Portugal.
#5 Trading a player to Valencia from Camp Nou made Gomes' transfer possible this summer
Valencia had put a £54 million price tag on Andre Gomes but accepted Barca's deal of a cut price of £46 million in exchange of trading a player who is proving to be surplus to demands at Barcelona. With a plethora of talent available in midfield at Barca, it was reported that Arda Turan will make way for Gomes but now it is being speculated that fullback Martin Montoya and winger Cristian Tello will make their way to Mestalla.
Andre Gomes' arrival to Camp Nou this summer can be termed as the first Clasico victory as Real Madrid were in for the Portuguese all along and were reportedly very close to signing the 22-year-old before Barca came calling for the youngster. Gomes has all the qualities to be a long term replacement for Barca legend, Xavi Hernandez.
