This has been somewhat of a topsy-turvy campaign for Everton and Carlo Ancelotti.
Although the Toffees are on the verge of securing European football, they’ve been incredibly inconsistent.
On the chalkboard
Speaking of inconsistency, Andre Gomes is a man who has demonstrated that in abundance this season.
The Portuguese ace was a dynamic presence in the middle of the park during his first campaign at Goodison Park.
The midfielder oozed class during his loan spell with theclub and consequently, they spent £22m to secure his services. Unfortunately, this term he has been particularly disappointing.
After returning from injury, he’s struggled to resume the same control he usually plays with and has been particularly feeble from a physical point of view.
During Everton’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, he was taken off shortly after the hour mark having made just the two tackles. Those types of performances have summed up the last few months for the 27-year-old, especially against some of the best teams in the Premier League.
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Gomes won just one of his 12 ground duels against Liverpool back in February and then won only three of 14 duels against Chelsea in March and Manchester City a few weeks later.
As Carlo Ancelotti’s men slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday evening, the midfielder was again rather lightweight, prevailed in only two of his nine defensive duels.
The solution
As Gomes struggles to get up to speed in Ancelotti’s midfield, the Italian manager should consider some investment in the summer transfer window.
Of course, the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure will be vital once he’s back to full fitness but an added dose of quality in the shape of Adrien Rabiot would go down nicely.
Reports from Italy in March stated that Ancelotti was an admirer of the Juventus midfielder but Everton have now been joined in the £17m race to sign him by Chelsea and Barcelona.
It won’t be a straightforward chase but they could land a huge upgrade on Gomes by luring him to Merseyside this summer.
Rabiot is a defensive midfielder by trade and would offer plenty of physical qualities to an Everton side that lacks a sense of robustness with Gomes in the starting XI.
Speaking about the Frenchman back in November, Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo said: "He is a complete player, I have rarely seen someone so strong both physically and technically.”
Gianluigi Buffon is also a huge fan, commenting: "He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of Pogba, who is like a wardrobe, has the personality of Vidal and potentially the dynamism of Marchisio. He is incredible, extremely strong.”
A quick look at the stats supplements their opinions. In 2020/21, Rabiot has won 2.3 tackles per game and has made 1.4 interceptions a match.
Compare that to Gomes and the differences are stark. The Everton midfielder has only performed 1.4 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per outing. Of course, he is a different player to Rabiot but the Juve midfielder also knows how to get forward and pass.
He’d offer extra security in front of the backline and would add a layer of strength and power that Gomes doesn’t possess.