Barcelona Transfer News: Andre Gomes Battle with Real Madrid, Latest Rumours

Barcelona and Real Madrid reportedly may go head-to-head to sign Valencia star Andre Gomes this summer, while Manchester United have pulled out of the race to land him. 

According to Marca (h/t Sport), Gomes is Zinedine Zidane's "No. 1 objective" in the transfer market, pitting them against the Blaugrana, who are also interested. Meanwhile, Sport's Ivan San Antonio has reported that Jose Mourinho has ended United's pursuit of the midfielder.

The Portugal international is among the most highly rated players in his position thanks to some of the excellent showings he's put in for Valencia in recent seasons. Here are some of his highlights from last year:

His all-round play in midfield is excellent—his distribution is varied and impressive, he's composed on the ball and he can break forward dangerously as he creates opportunities for his team-mates.

WhoScored.com's Dinesh Hardayal believes him to be even more impressive because of his tender age:

Indeed, he's already an excellent player at 22—and there's still plenty of room for him to grow. As WhoScored.com also revealed, he has bite to his game but could perhaps work on his discipline:

Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez is an admirer, but believes Barca have little need for him right now:

Indeed, though Andres Iniesta is 32 and the time will soon come for the Blaugrana to find a replacement, they already have several young stars who could potentially fulfil that role—Sergi Samper, Alen Halilovic and Denis Suarez to name a few.

That could leave the door open for Real to swoop in.

In other news, according to Sport's Tomas Andreu, Barcelona are interested in snapping up Deportivo La Coruna forward Lucas Perez as they look for a back-up to their front three and have been in touch with Perez, the club and his agent.

Perez is said to be "theoretically keen" on serving as a squad player, and Deportivo could be willing to part with him for €12 million.

The 27-year-old bagged 19 goals in all competitions last season, including this exceptional strike, per La Liga:

He also racked up 11 assists, demonstrating his ability to contribute to the team, so he could be a strong capture if he can develop chemistry with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Acquiring a player who can provide strong cover for the trio and allow them to rest on occasion will be particularly important this summer—if a player as incisive as Perez is willing to play second fiddle to them, they should snap him up as soon as possible.