West Ham have lodged a €22.5m offer for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes although his valuation remains €28m, according to reports.
Diario Sport cites a report in Sky Sports which states that the Hammers are currently the frontrunners to sign the Portuguese midfielder, who spent last season on loan at Everton.
The East London club’s initial offer of €18m was rejected by the Catalan giants, who are said to be holding out for a minimum of €28m for the player.
Everton paid a season-long loan fee of €2.5m to land the central midfielder but did not possess an option to sign the 25-year-old on a permanent basis.
Gomes – who scored once and provided two assists in 29 appearances for the Merseyside club – is not expected to return to the Camp Nou this summer and Tottenham are also said to be potentially preparing for the possibility of Christian Eriksen moving on.
Everton are unlikely to be able to match the financial demands of their rivals, but with Barca keen on a sale the deal may still be feasible for the Merseyside club.
Gomes joined Barca from Valencia in 2016 in a deal worth up to €55m but failed to settle at the Catalan giants.
