West Ham have made an opening bid in the region of £18million for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes, according to reports.
Gomes spent the season on loan at Everton and impressed in his debut campaign in the Premier League.
According to the Times, Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has made signing the playmaker one of his main priorities in the summer and the club are trying to act fast to secure a deal.
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Everton are keen to retain the Portuguese’s services but no preferential option was included in the deal agreed between Barcelona and the Merseyside outfit before the season started.
West Ham are now in pole position to land the 25-year-old’s signature and have tabled an opening bid of £18m.
Marco Silva said earlier this month that Everton must do everthing they can to sign Gomes permanently, but the prospect of that happening is now looking slimmer with every passing day.
Barcelona signed Gomes from Valencia in 2016 but he struggled to meet expectations at the Catalan club and Blaugrana chiefs are keen to cash in on their player.
Tottenham have also been linked to Gomes in recent weeks but they have now reportedly rebuffed their interest in order to sign Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
Spurs deal-makers have alrready begun negotiations over the transfer for Lo Celso, who netted nine times in LaLiga this season.