Forgotten Everton star now makes long-awaited return in ‘top-class’ U21s display

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Andre Gomes made his first on-field display since August last night as Everton U21s thrashed Southampton.

Andre Gomes hasn’t featured all season for The Toffees, with an appearance on the bench against Fulham back in mid-August his only match-day inclusion.

Since then, he’s not featured at all for Everton as he looked to build himself back to fitness, which must’ve been in a bad way to miss 114 days.

The Portuguese midfielder never quite managed to find the levels which saw Barcelona sign him as a promising youngster.

However, after such a long time of working himself back to fitness at Finch Farm, Gomes has finally made his on-field return for the U21s.

Andre Gomes makes his return for Everton under-21s vs Southampton under-21s

The Official Everton website has reported on the Goodison Park side’s 5-0 thrashing against Southampton.

The report led with the line that Gomes was ‘top-class’ in the 5-0 Under-21s win, in which he featured for 60 minutes in.

Later it was written that Gomes ‘looked sharp and combined well’ with Lewis Dobbin in the game with that particular moment lacking the end product to see the chance converted.

Speaking to Club Media after the win, Under-21s’ boss Paul Tait was keen to praise Gomes’ performance and attitude in the win: “Andre was excellent. His calmness on the ball was great and you could see he’s a top-class player.

“He was down to play for 60 minutes and when he came off, I told him to go and get a shower but he wouldn’t because he wanted to stay out with the lads and watch the rest of the game. He showed a great attitude and I thank him for that.”

What will Sean Dyche do with Andre Gomes?

On paper, Gomes may not seem like a typical Sean Dyche player which the Everton boss valuing physicality and work rate highly.

However, despite this, Dyche has previously been quoted as being eager to have the 30-year-old back, saying in September: “He’s aware that I want him to be fit, I think him a very good player.”

We imagine that for the short-term, Dyche will be delighted to have an additional option in midfield, however, it would be unlikely to see him at the club beyond this season, especially as he has been tipped for an exit recently.