Marcel Brands has revealed that he told Everton to sign Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes two years before he became the club’s director of football.

Speaking to newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD), Brands admitted that he turned down the Director of Football role at Everton in 2016 but gave Majority Shareholder Farhad Moshiri a transfer tip regarding then Valencia midfielder Gomes.

Gomes had come to the attention of Brands whilst he was at Benfica and the Dutchman had watched the progress of the midfielder at Valencia but knew PSV would not be able to afford to sign him.

Brands said :

“Two years ago, Everton asked me too but I wanted to stay at PSV. I gave Moshiri a tip to pick up Andre Gomes at Valencia.”

Everton missed out on Gomes who then joined Barcelona that summer for €30m but secured the Portuguese playmaker this summer on a year’s loan. However, Brands backed up Manager Marco Silva’s admittance that Everton want to sign the 25 year old on a permanent deal but warned that the final decision will be with Gomes.

“The season just started. We are happy with Andre, but will depend on him if he wants to continue with us,” Brands confirmed.

The early signs look promising as Gomes has thrown himself into life at Everton after suffering a difficult two years at Barcelona and admitting that last season he suffered with anxiety and depression as a result of his unhappiness. The smile is now back on Gomes’ face and perhaps Brands will finally get his man a few years later than he originally had hoped.