Manchester United are lining up a bid for Brazilian talent Joao Gomes as Erik ten Hag aims to start the club’s summer transfer business early.
What’s the news?
South American news outlet BolaVIP have reported that the Red Devils are sending scouts to watch Flamengo star Joao Gomes in action as they appear keen to bring him to England.
It was originally TNTSports which linked United with the 21-year-old in March, and it looks like Ten Hag is about to get a closer look at the player.
A fee of around R$200m (£33m) is what the Manchester club are willing to pay for the defensive midfielder, according to journalist Gustavo Henrique, and this seems a reasonable fee for someone of Gomes’s talent and age.
Imagine him and Bruno
One of Ten Hag’s main priorities at Old Trafford will surely be to rejuvenate the midfield. With the future of Paul Pogba still hanging in the air and Nemanja Matic leaving, there will be a need to bolster United’s options in this area.
Gomes could well be an ideal signing and he has a respectable WhoScored average rating of 6.85 this season. His pass success rate is an excellent 88.4%, and a player with such impressive passing ability is one that the Dutchman will surely want in his team.
Will ten Hag sign Joao Gomes?
Having a holding midfielder of his ball distribution in the team would allow more creative freedom to the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo. Knowing that they have a solid midfielder behind them with the attributes to break up play and potentially build attacks from the base of midfield could be a game-changer going into next season.
Gomes has been described in the past as the “great ball thief”, and this quote perfectly summarises his qualities. The 21-year-old makes 4.1 tackles per game and wins back possession 0.4 times per 90 minutes.
For a reported fee of £33m, Ten Hag should be making Gomes one of his first summer signings at Old Trafford.
