da brdice： Perhaps the biggest tragedy to befall Barcelona wasn’t Neymar’s shock move to Paris Saint-Germain but the failure of their plan to reboot their ageing squad a summer earlier.
da dobrowin： Last year, Samuel Umtiti, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and Paco Alcacer arrived at the club, with the aim of strengthening the defence, the midfield, the creative attacking midfield and attack.
This summer, losing Neymar arguably feels so bad not because of how shocking it was to lose the player in such a brutal way, but because of how badly the reboot went. It felt as though the only player left to carry the flag when Andres Iniesta eventually retires and Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi follow him had just left for PSG. The others who came in last summer simply weren’t good enough.
And that’s perhaps why, instead of replacing Iniesta at the Camp Nou, Andres Gomes could well find himself at West Ham on loan.
Given the hold-up in deal for William Carvalho, the Hammers are currently looking for options in an area they so desperately need to strengthen. The midfield is the only part of the team which looks weak on paper, after strengthening the defence and attack this summer, but after three defeats on the spin – terrible defeats in which ten goals were conceded – the need for strengthening now looks severe. And that’s why the Hammers appear to have turned to Carvalho’s Portuguese international teammate instead.
On the face of it, you can see why Gomes would be a good addition. Like Carvalho, the former Valencia midfielder is an up and coming name in European football, something that only one year ago led Barcelona to acquire his services.
The stats add up, too, from a West Ham point of view. Despite Barcelona’s dominance in most games against the lower teams in Spain, Gomes made a tackle per game, though when it came to interceptions, you can see that it’s not in his game. His passing accuracy was also very high, but you’d expect that from a Barcelona player.
The other thing to note about those stats is the fact that he never hit great form. If he had done, he’d still be playing at Barcelona rather than potentially being loaned out to West Ham in a World Cup year. That means the stats are lower than they probably should be.
Gomes’ pedigree means that, if Slaven Bilic – or any potential new manager – could get the best out of him, he could be a great signing, even for one season. But it’s a gamble to take because there’s no guarantee of good form, nor is he the midfielder to sit in front of a back four that’s leaking goals.
This summer was ironically one where it looked as though West Ham had done some really good business. But this last deal could well be the metaphor for the whole thing. Gomes is a big name who looks good on the surface, but who might not be as good as they think he is on paper. And the start of the season – admittedly only three games – does seem to suggest those are the sorts of signings the Hammers may have made. On the outside it all looks so good, but the middle could be very hollow indeed.