Barcelona reaches agreement with Valencia for Andre Gomes
Barcelona announced Thursday the club has reached an agreement with Valencia to acquire highly touted Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes. The player will both sign and be presented to fans and media next week, according to the club.
Gomes, 22, was a member of the Portugal team that won Euro 2016, and joins the Blaugrana on a transfer reported to be in the range of €50 million, according to Marca. He made 41 appearances last season for Los Che, and also made five appearances for Portugal at Euro 2016, recording one assist.
A versatile midfielder, Gomes can be used both as a defensive holding type or a more offensive-minded attacker. He has also been used on the left wing for both club and country, and is expected to slot in where required in Jose Enrique's Barcelona lineup.
He is just the latest in a rather successful line of Valencia players making the switch to the Blaugrana, following in the footsteps of Jordi Alba, David Villa, and Jeremy Mathieu in recent years.
Gomes had plenty of suitors this season, with Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus all being linked with him at some point during the last few weeks.
At Barcelona, he will likely compete with Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto, and Rafinha for a starting spot ahead of defensive midfield stalwart Sergio Busquets.
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