Andre Gomes shows why he was worth £29.3m two years ago on Everton debut

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This summer saw Everton snap up three players from Barcelona. Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina both arrived on permanent deals. Andre Gomes, on the other hand, arrived on loan until the end of the season.

Everton’s sporting director Marcel Brands admitted in the summer that the Toffees simply could not afford to bring in the Portuguese international on a permanent deal. As he told the Guardian, Barcelona initially said they would only sell Gomes, but as they struggled to find a buyer later in the window, they relaxed their stance and allowed a loan switch.

Gomes cost Barcelona a fee reported by the BBC to be in the region of £29.3 million when he left Valencia in 2016. That was just the initial fee, with Goal reporting the entire deal was worth €70 million (£61.6 million), including the extra add-ons and clauses.

So it was no surprise that Everton could not afford Gomes permanently after their summer of spending.

However, based on his debut yesterday, it is easy to see why Gomes is rated so highly.

He came straight into the starting XI after proving his fitness over the international break. His display was assured, comfortable and incisive, looking the perfect midfielder for Marco Silva’s regime.

The most impressive aspect of his game was the desire to pass the ball forward, an undervalued commodity in the modern game. Whispered comparisons to Mikel Arteta are already doing the rounds on social media.

Everton have hopefully found a star who, unfortunately, they did not have the finances for this summer. If he continues this form, Brands and Farhad Moshiri will be scraping the piggy bank to make his stay more exclusive.