Everton: £18 million man makes a strong case for himself after the arrivals of Dele Alli and Van de Beek

Ahead of the last week in the winter transfer window, Everton were delivered another injury blow as Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph were ruled out for four weeks. There was an immediate change in focus as now the Toffees pushed to sign a midfielder as they only had Allan, Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin as fit players in the midfield.

It soon became clear that Frank Lampard was going to take over as the manager of the club. In one of the interviews, Lampard discussed the possibility of bringing Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli to the club. In fact, the 43 year old played a crucial role in bringing the duo to Everton. Van de Beek joined on a short loan and Alli joined on an initial free transfer.

In a week, Everton have gone from having bare minimum depth in the midfield to having talented and sizeable players in the department. Once the sidelined players return, Lampard will have a plethora of players to choose from.

With Van de Beek and Alli coming in, Gomes may find himself pushed to the bench more often than before. The Portuguese midfielder has been in and out of the team due to changes in managers, injury concerns from time to time and inconsistency issues. Especially, post his traumatic ankle injury, Gomes’ levels have dropped as if the ghost of the agonizing injury has left mental scars on him.

Everton midfielder Andre Gomes shines under Frank Lampard

In a possession-based side, Gomes is one of the finest operators on the ball. Sadly, the poor managerial choices by Everton in the past that stuck with conservative football did more harm to Gomes than favour.

When Lampard took over the reins at Everton, Gomes’ eyes must have reflected a charming gleam given the Englishman’s modern day possession based approach. However, soon with the arrivals of Alli and Van de Beek pose a problem for Gomes.

The competition to get a starting spot got even tougher than before. While Alli and Van de Beek can play the No.10 role, they are also creative attackers enjoying the freedom of marauding forward. Gomes in an expansive team will always be given the freedom to surge forward and be a part of the buildup. The newest Everton signings could have posed a problem.

Gomes needed something special to showcase Lampard and make a case for himself. With Alli and Van de Beek cup tied, Gomes had a golden opportunity to stake his claim in the midfield against Brentford in the FA Cup.

He grabbed the chance with both hands, putting up a noteworthy performance after a long spell of bland displays. He was one of the best players on the pitch on Saturday afternoon. The former Barcelona man had the most touches (97) on the pitch. With a passing accuracy of 83% and a dribble completion rate of 100% (four dribbles), Gomes asserted himself as a key component in Lampard’s system against Brentford.

If the 28 year old continues to perform at such a high level, he’s soon going to give Lampard a selection headache, a headache that managers love, but have a hard time finding the aspirin for it.

Will Andre Gomes continue to sparkle under Lampard?