Real Madrid Should Stay Away from €65 Million Andre Gomes Transfer Battle

Well, it didn't take long: after all the talk of sensible Real Madrid investment over the last few weeks, the big-money-buy rumours have surfaced—for a player the club simply don't need to splash out on.

Zinedine Zidane's side have brought back Alvaro Morata from Juventus and have been linked with a post-Euro 2016 move for N'Golo Kante by Marca's Jose Felix Diaz. But Carlos Carpio from the same Spanish outlet has also reported the Santiago Bernabeu team are looking to sign Andre Gomes from La Liga rivals Valencia—for a massive €65 million.

Juventus have already had a lower offer, around €40 million, turned down, and Barcelona are another team said to be in the hunt—despite publicly announcing a budget that left them with €43 million to spend after the addition of Samuel Umtiti, as reported by Sport's Toni Juanmarti.

Real, of the three sides, have the financial muscle to conclude the deal even if Los Che refuse to lower the astronomical price tag, but adding Andre Gomes to Zidane's current squad solves no present problems and creates more congestion in an already-packed area of the team—without bringing new, or improved, ability.

Central zone

Real Madrid have been almost exclusively a 4-3-3 side under Zidane, barring a few late-season alterations, with Casemiro's breakthrough into the regular XI leaving Toni Kroos and Luka Modric as the more advanced duo. 

Kante is expected to be added to that group, giving competition, cover and a potential infrequent partner to Casemiro as protector of the defence and a powerful surging option in transitions to the Real midfield—but there is also heavy competition elsewhere.

James Rodriguez and Isco both struggled for significant game time in the second half of last season, and the Colombian is still yet to discover if he has a future at the club.

Despite seeming to show an inclination to stay, president Florentino Perez has requested a face-to-face meeting during pre-season, according to Marca's Felix Diaz.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

Add in Mateo Kovacic, the returning Marco Asensio, the longer-term possibility that Lucas Silva returns and the plethora of younger midfield talents who have been out on loan all still trying to break through, and Real Madrid's central-midfield options are not lacking.

Of course, Andre Gomes has been used in other roles; his time as a No. 10 is made redundant with Real not operating with one, and the Portuguese schemer's best performances have at times come from the left side of attack—but that spot is also filled, by none other than his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

Gomes would be a signing for the centre of midfield only, and with Modric an absolute must-have in the team for the sake of tactical balance as much as his quality, it would be Gomes in a straight fight with Kroos, along with whoever remained out of Isco, Kovacic and James.

And that's without even considering Real Madrid's long-standing interest in Paul Pogba, reported by Felix Diaz.

Consistency

Gomes undeniably has talent, but that quality has not been shown regularly enough.

He was part of a severely underperforming Valencia side in La Liga last term, going through three managers and ending the season in 12th place, and speaking with Valencia-based La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney gave an insight into the fans' view of Gomes.

"He is someone capable of exciting the Mestalla crowd, admittedly not as much last season as his previous year, but is still well-liked among the fans," Gaffney said. "Unfortunately, last season caused a lot of unrest, both in the dressing room as well as in the stands.

"Gomes isn’t as popular as Shkodran Mustafi, also linked with a move away [per SID via ESPN FC], and most fans have convinced themselves the midfielder wants to leave so are already coming to terms with his departure. Losing the German international would cause more unrest but if Gomes fetches the reported €65 million fee I can’t see many people complaining."

A lack of tactical consistency in the lineup, one or two small injuries and team-mates who were below their best level all contributed to Gomes' down-season, no doubt, but the Portuguese isn't a youngster. He'll turn 23 at the end of July and is a regular in Portugal's national-team squad, though he is only playing a role off the bench at Euro 2016.

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

Part of the reason for not starting is his lack of defensive work rate compared to Adrien Silva and Joao Mario, whom coach Fernando Santos prefers in the Selecao's flexible, but industrious, midfield shape.

Naturally, playing in Real Madrid's midfield would dictate that Gomes do most of his work in offensive rather than defensive situations, but Zidane focused much of his energies last season in ensuring the XI worked as a team, on and off the ball, encouraging even the front three to track back and help out positionally.

But is technical talent enough? For Real Madrid, it cannot be.

Alternative

On the ball, Gomes ticks boxes. Gaffney cited his movement from deep and good shot from range as traits that make him a danger, but his ability to be composed under pressure is equally as important: "Some players automatically create an extra second or two in order to decide where to move the ball next, and Gomes does that so well."

To fit in Gomes, Real have to rip up a plan that has been ongoing for some time.

They'd essentially need to sell both Isco and James, considering the respective ages of all involved, and also acknowledge the youngsters who won't make it due to no room in the squad: Alvaro Medran, impressive at times at Getafe until his injury; Diego Llorente, already shipped out to Malaga for the upcoming season; and even the likes of Castilla options Martin Odegaard and Enzo Zidane.

Gomes cannot possibly be seen as the right option to go with over that current and potential pool of players. Were the fee lower, and perhaps on par with an Isco exit, there'd be a case to make—but add another €20 million to the top of Gomes' suggested price tag and it's Paul Pogba territory. In that case, there's only one option to take.

Gaffney noted a reason for the inflated valuation: "No one at Valencia would agree he’s worth that. Last summer maybe, as Chelsea even had a €50 million bid rejected while he was initially on loan at Valencia. The problem is they need to give 25 per cent of any future fee to his old club Benfica, and with player prices all over the shop, it makes sense they’d demand a price above his current worth."

The newly crowned champions of Europe have a limited pool of talent to choose from of players who can enhance the squad, never mind the starting XI, and Andre Gomes doesn't offer enough differentiation to what's already in place to warrant the outlay, especially given the huge price tag attached.

Follow @karlmatchett