Sean Dyche makes Andre Gomes transfer admission after 'excellent' Everton return

Andre Gomes assured Sean Dyche he wanted to be part of his Everton project when he returned to the club from Lille.

Gomes enjoyed an impressive loan spell with the French outfit, who did have ambitions of trying to secure his services again such was his impact last season. But Dyche said the Portuguese midfielder committed to the Blues before having his season disrupted for months by a series of injuries and setbacks.

That came to an end on Saturday as Gomes was introduced off the bench to play his first competitive minutes under Dyche. He scored and should have left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with two assists from a standout performance.

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Gomes featured during pre-season and was named on the bench for the opening game of the Premier League season against Fulham only to then disappear from the first-team mix due to injury. Three consecutive appearances for Everton Under-21s - including the completion of 90 minutes for the academy side against Feyenoord on Tuesday - convinced Dyche he was ready to move back into the first-team squad.

That inclusion became pivotal when Idrissa Gueye had to leave the pitch injured after 25 minutes and, with Abdoulaye Doucoure already out, Dyche turned to Gomes. Concerns that too much might be being asked too soon of the former Barcelona man quickly subsided as he created a glorious chance for Jack Harrison before creating a goal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin only for VAR to intervene. His impact continued, however, and it was Gomes who smashed in with 10 minutes to go to give Everton a chance of