Lille will try for another loan deal with Everton for Andre Gomes at the end of the season, but the Toffees’ plans for the player are as yet unclear.
That’s according to La Voix du Nord, who say the French side cannot afford to sign the Portuguese midfielder on a permanent basis in the summer.
The newspaper explains that LOSC are planning for next season behind the scenes, with their midfield in particular needing plenty of attention.
One of the cases needing to be resolved is the future of Gomes, who has been on loan from Everton since the summer and a key player under Paulo Fonseca since his arrival.
Lille would like to keep him, but he does not fit into the club’s salary structure and the best they can do is sign him on loan once again. An attempt to make that happen ‘is not out of the question’ at this point.
Gomes would certainly like to stay as he likes Lille and has enjoyed his time there but it is as of yet unclear what ‘Everton intend to do’ at this moment in time.
Sanctioning a loan deal seems unlikely given Gomes has a contract at Goodison Park until 2024, which means a loan would be effectively letting him go on a free a year early.
Perhaps a loan deal with a mandatory purchase clause would work but that would require some difficult, and presumably long, negotiations before it could come to fruition.
