“Come on Andre, mate, make sure you stay!”

Editor’s Note: The quotes below are taken from Sky Sports, and there appears to be a certain amount of artistic license taken by the journalist as Mina speaks no English, and certainly not as colloquially as it has been presented.

The vital importance to Marco Silva’s Everton midfield of Andre Gomes cannot be understated. The on-loan midfielder has made the position his own, and in just a matter of games has made himself indispensable.

Fans can already see this and have been clamouring for Marcel Brands to make his season-long loan permanent, and evidently he’s been making a similar impact on his teammates as well.

Central defender Yerry Mina has played previously with the Portuguese maestro at Barcelona, and knows very well what he’s capable of. Now he’s joined his voice to those asking Gomes to ensure that he stays on with the Blues beyond this season.

“Every day, I’m at him every day. I’ve basically told him the coach is happy with us and we’re happy with the coach, who is working hard to improve us as players on the training field.

“We can bring our little grain of sand here to help Everton do well. We are here to win stuff, this is a massive project that we are part of.

”I tell him that he is very happy and that I am happy that he is here. So, come on Andre, mate, make sure you stay!”

Mina also went on to add that the furore over Jordan Pickford’s derby error is completely unnecessary, and the England no. 1 remains one of the best at his position.

“First and foremost, not only is Jordan a great keeper, he’s a top bloke as well and a really good friend.

”He didn’t have to say anything in the dressing room afterwards, he’s saved us on many occasions.

“Errors can happen all over the field at any time, you need only look at last night where he saved us on a few occasions. He’s a real leader and one of the best keepers in this league.

“If there weren’t errors on the field, every match would end 0-0!”