Sean Dyche offers ‘frustrating’ Andre Gomes verdict as midfielder closes in on Everton return

Sean Dyche has revealed that it has been a very “frustrating” period for Andre Gomes as the Everton midfielder closes in on a return from injury.

Gomes spent last season on loan in Ligue 1 with Lille and was widely expected to depart Goodison Park this summer as the Toffees attempted to move his reported £120,000 a week wages off of their books, with Dyche, in particular, eager to find a solution for the midfielder [Team Talk, 6 September].

No such move came to fruition and now the 30-year-old is set to return to action with Everton’s first-team having been in and out of training with injury, but Dyche has admitted the Portuguese midfielder has impressed him during training.

As quoted by the Liverpool Echo on Friday (29 September) he said: “He is back on the grass with us. He is short on game time, Andre. He has been training well with us. He has had some minor injuries but they came back-to-back, which sort of meant he was injured for around 10 days, then back for a week, then injured again.

“It has been very frustrating for him and he really needs game time now because he is coming to the end of that training period to try and make sure his body is good and strong. But he is certainly a player I have really enjoyed watching in training. He has played a couple of games in between these injuries and we hope to get him fit soon.”

Few would have predicted at the start of the summer that Dyche would have been singing the praises of Gomes and touting him for a return to first-team action in September, given the 30-year-old’s lack of minutes at Goodison Park in recent seasons.

Gomes does offer some different to any other player in the Toffees’ midfield when the former Barcelona man is fit and firing, the question for Dyche will be whether or not he feels as though he can get the best out of midfielder.

You would imagine as soon as the transfer window opens again unless Gomes has established himself as a consistent starter at Goodison Park, Everton will be keen to rid themselves of the Portuguese’s extortionately high wages.

Until then, they may as well try to get as much value as they possibly can from him out on the pitch, rather than just paying him a wage to sit on the sidelines. After all, there isn’t loads of midfield depth in Dyche’s ranks so the 30-year-old could be an incredibly helpful option.