Dominic Solanke reacts to Angel Gomes’ two-word message after Tottenham transfer snub
Angel Gomes has had several Premier League clubs on his tail as the England midfielder prepares to leave Lille this summer.
Tottenham, Everton and West Ham were all candidates to sign the 24-year-old after it became clear that he would leave the Ligue 1 side at the end of his contract, with a Premier League return on the cards.
Gomes’ form saw him break into the senior England team under Lee Carsley last season, and though he’s yet to feature for Thomas Tuchel, Gomes is expected to be in contention at next summer’s World Cup.
Football Insider revealed last month that the ex-Manchester United player would be subject to an “open transfer race” including West Ham, Tottenham and Aston Villa, but Gomes has now decided his future.
Gomes ‘locked in’ on next destination as Tottenham miss out
Tottenham anticipated Gomes being on the move this summer and submitted a contract offer to sign the midfielder as far back as March, but have since joined Everton and West Ham in being unsuccessful.
Gomes has rebuffed interest from the Premier League trio after announcing his departure from Lille and has since agreed a deal for sign for fellow Ligue 1 side Marseille, who he’ll join at the end of June.
The four-time England international posted a pre-season training update on Instagram (24 June) in which he donned a Portugal shirt with ‘DECO 20’ on its back, alongside a caption of: “Locked in”.
Dominic Solanke won’t have Gomes as a club team-mate next season but that didn’t prevent him from liking the post, while Newcastle defender and former Lille player Sven Botman said: “My g”.
Tottenham made to move on from Gomes as midfield rebuild begins
Football Insider Verdict
Although Tottenham won’t have Gomes orchestrating play from the base of their midfield next term, new manager Thomas Frank still has plenty of options to work with as he takes charge in North London.
The Dane has name-checked Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall as midfielders he’s looking forward to working with at Spurs, while Frank’s admiration of Archie Gray is long-standing.
The make-up of Spurs’ midfield remains to be seen next season, but given Tottenham’s links to all-action forwards like Antoine Semenyo, it’s clear that Frank wants an explosive, dynamic frontline to operate around it.