CONFIRMED: Everton loan out midfielder right before the deadline

Everton’s attempts at lightening the wage bill during the last day of the transfer window came down to just one outgoing player right before the window closed at 11pm, with the confirmation that Andre Gomes has gone to LOSC Lille in France’s Ligue 1 on loan.

It’s still not clear how much of his reported £112,212 per week wages the Blues will continue to pay for the remainder of the season and what portion of it will be covered by Lille who sit in 8th place in the table.

The 29-year-old has fallen out of favour with manager Frank Lampard since his arrival earlier in 2022. Gomes has two more years left on his contract, and the Blues will want him to do well and attempt to convince Lille to buy him outright, even though there’s no buy option associated with this loan deal.

The Portuguese international joined the Blues from Barcelona back in the summer of 2019, and has featured in 100 games for the Toffees in all competitions, scoring two goals and picking up seven assists in that time, but has largely underwhelmed in England where the pace and the physicality of the game has seemed to pass him by.