The enigma that is André Gomes has been one of the key talking points for the Catalan giants this season. Moving north from Valencia following his Euro 2016 triumph for an astronomical fee in the region of £50 million, it’s been glaringly obvious to all that he’s yet to live up to his titanic price tag.
Criticised for his lackadaisical demeanour, unadventurous passing and lack of creativity, Gomes’ reputation has been greatly maimed in spite of the countless plaudits he received following his exemplary 2015/16 campaign at the Mestalla.
The 23-year-old has been in and out of Luis Enrique’s starting XI this season during his debut campaign for the Spanish giants. Expectations were high when Gomes signed for the Blaugrana. However, in recent weeks it’s reported that Messi is growing frustrated with Gomes’ contribution and the Argentine superstar believes Barcelona should sell him, Spanish publication Diario Gol claim.
The Scottish League’s on/off association with Portuguese footballers (and management – more of this soon) is back ‘on’ again since Portuguese striker Esmaël Gonçalves (or ‘Isma’ for short) joined Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) in the Scottish top tier in January.
A surprise appointment at Nantes in December, Sérgio Conceição has wasted no time in making a positive impact at the French club. When the former Portugal international took over, Nantes were in penultimate place in the standings. Fast forward three months, and an impressive series of results in 14 League 1 matches (W7 D4 L3) has catapulted the club from western France up to 10th in the table.
A European Championship winner, recipient of the Golden Boy Award and the subject of a €35 million transfer from his boyhood club to one of the continent’s giants, and all at the tender age of 18. That was a nice way for Renato Sanches to spend his 2016.
In a year which has seen numerous young Portuguese stars start to truly blossom and make a name for themselves (João Mário, Nelson Semedo, André Silva), Bernardo Silva is arguably the pick of the bunch. The Lisbon native has produced bewildering performances on a consistent basis, and is widely considered the best player in France’s Ligue 1 thus far in the 2016/17 season.