Marcel Brands has credited Everton fans for being integral in bringing Andre Gomes back to Goodison Park this summer.
The Toffees were able to complete the permanent signing of Gomes for £22million in June, having had the Barcelona midfielder on a season-long loan last season.
Going into this summer’s transfer window, Gomes was considered Everton’s primary target, with the club and fans alike desperate to bring the Portugal international back to Merseyside.
While Gomes had interest from a host of other clubs across Europe, after impressing during his year with the Toffees, the 26-year old made it clear that he wanted to return to the Blues.
Talking to evertontv (via Liverpool Echo), Brands hailed the Everton fans for making Gomes feel at home, with the Dutchman claiming that in striking up a positive relationship with the Gomes, the fans made it easier for him to negotiate with the La Liga giants. Asked about how signing Gomes could be perceived as a huge statement, Brands said:
Yes, but I have to be honest, the biggest help in that was our fans.
They loved him from the first day and that gave Andre a great feeling here at this club.That helped me a lot in the negotiations I had with Barcelona.
There was interest in him from other clubs in England. And when Andre decided he wanted to go to Everton that helped me a lot in the negotiations with Barcelona.
That was a great job the fans did for me.
In this case the fans gave him such a beautiful and amazing welcome that he felt at home from day one. That is not something I can arrange. It happens and I was glad to see that.
It helped me a lot.
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Brands’ words definitely made me proud to call myself an Evertonian. It’s been clear to see that Gomes has a great relationship with the club’s fan base, and to hear that the adoration and respect from the fans helped bring an elite player to the club certainly makes you proud.
It’s also a huge signal to other players who maybe don’t see Everton as the building project that they are just yet. If other players are willing to risk a move to the club, only to find the fans will back you to the end if you work hard and show passion, maybe more might be willing to take a leap of faith.
When you consider the amount of contact Wilfried Zaha is currently receiving on social media from Everton fans, begging and calling on him to move to Merseyside, it does make you question the impact fans can have. Of course, the Blues will be drowned out by the number of Eagles fans on Zaha’s timeline, but it still makes you think.
This is one massive building process, and Rome wasn’t built in a day (nor was any city for that matter), but it is positive words like this that shows every fan that they are contributing, one brick at a time.
