2018-19 Everton Report Cards: Andre Gomes

Next up in our player by player review of the past Everton season, in which each individual will be recapped and rated is: Andre Gomes

Summary

Andre Gomes’ future is currently up in the air, though it looks like Everton has a good chance to keep him. He is being widely pursued by virtue of the quality of his performances for the Toffees this season, and it is all very well deserved.

After arriving at Goodison Park with a muscle injury, Gomes finally got himself right and was from there on out a very regular contributor for Everton. He and Idrissa Gueye form an enviable midfield partnership that I truly hope continues into the future. Gomes carries the ball well, plays effective long balls, and does good work taking care of the ball and being a link between our back line and our attackers.

If he is bought permanently, he should be a foundational piece of our midfield for years to come.

Performance

Gomes did not make his Everton debut until October 21st, 2018, against Crystal Palace. For a brief period of time after that, I witnessed a minor debate among some portions of this fanbase about whether Gomes should be preferred to Tom Davies, such was the Englishman’s form in Silva’s system and such was the rust and bedding in process that Gomes had to work through.

The Portuguese midfielder eventually won the day, however, racking up nearly 2000 minutes in the league this season. In doing so he was entrusted with connecting the back line to the front through long passes and ball carrying. While attempting 6.2 long balls per 90 minutes, he completed 69% (an excellent rate) as well as 75% of his dribble attempts. While his added dribbling responsibility caused him to be dispossessed more than his midfield partner Gueye, he was in total a model of efficiency in a central midfield position.

The 25-year-old is not a great defender, but he is a willing one, only completing about half his tackle attempts this season, but with Gana out there he doesn’t have to be. I appreciate his willingness to put in a shift, and if he becomes a better tackler I really do not see how most opponents are going to be able to work their way through the middle of the pitch on us.

Usage

As mentioned, Gomes put in nearly 2000 EPL minutes, he had 27 appearances total and 24 of them were starts. Of the eleven games he did not take part in, eight were due to the injury that began the season.

Silva relies on Gomes. That midfield finally started making sense down the stretch and I really do not want to see him have to replace his Portuguese metronome over the summer. He’s a critical part of this team.

Future

This is completely up in the air until a permanent deal with Barca gets worked out. I feel pretty confident about it. We are motivated to land Gomes, he seems to want to come here, and Barca has no compelling reason to go against his wishes. If he is secured I think he will be here for a long time as an important part of our midfield.

Of our three starting midfielders, he is the youngest at 25, and I think he is good enough that he could still be starting for Everton when they (hopefully) hit their goal of being among the top six sides in the Premier League.

Grade: B+

While Gomes has certainly boosted the Everton midfield, the Blues still need a more attack-minded player than the Portuguese midfielder to unlock teams that park the bus against the Blues. If Gomes can ramp up his meager 1 shot and 0.3 key passes per 90 min stats, then he’d be even more important to the Blues.