West Ham have made an offer to Barcelona in the region of £18m for Andre Gomes. The 25-year-old Portugal international spent last season on loan at Everton, where he made 27 Premier League appearances. While the Merseyside club would like to retain Gomes, no preferential option to buy the midfielder was included in last summer’s single-season loan deal.

The Hammers have made a series of offers for Gomes, whom Manuel Pellegrini as identified as a priority signing ahead of his second campaign at the London club. Barca value Gomes – who is under contract to the Liga champions until 2021 – at around twice West Ham’s bid. The Catalan club Barca acquired Gomes from Valencia in 2016 for an initial transfer fee of €35m plus