Claudio Gomes’ first words after securing Barnsley move from Manchester City | OneFootball

Barnsley’s recruitment in recent years has gone all international, and so have their managers with Germans, Austrians and Frenchmen all taking charge of the Tykes.

And on deadline day the incomings were no different as the Yorkshire side snapped up a talented young Frenchman by the name of Claudio Gomes.

Whilst Gomes is probably unfamiliar to most English football fans, the 21-year-old has been a Manchester City player since 2018 after the Citizens snapped him up from Paris Saint-Germain but has seen little senior football.

Gomes has played in two competitive games for City’s first-team and spent the 2019-20 season on loan at PSV Eindhoven’s under-23 side, who play in the Dutch second tier.

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The defensive midfielder was restricted to just under-23 football in the 2020-21 campaign as he featured 22 times for City in the EFL Trophy and Premier League 2, but now he arrives at Oakwell looking to make a real impact in English football before hopefully becoming a Premier League player.

Speaking about becoming a Tyke, Gomes told the club’s official website: “I’m excited, to be honest.

“My first game is away from home, so I have to wait three weeks to see the fans, but I’m excited to play with the guys, for the club and to give 100% for everyone.

“When you love football, for me it’s easy to join a group because I’m a humble person. I’m in Barnsley now and I’m a Barnsley player – I’m not a Man City player at this time.

“I’m with the guys and the club, I want to help the team and the team to help me, as well.

“The first few days in training have been good and we’ll keep going to improve as a group and me as a person with them.”

The Verdict

You’d imagine that Gomes is coming in to compete with Romal Palmer for one of the two central midfield spots in Markus Schopp’s system judging by the way he sets his Barnsley side up.

Palmer does most of the defensive work in the Tykes side in a midfield duo, whilst one of Josh Benson or Callum Styles will be the more attacking playmaker who look to chip in with goals and assists.

Gomes’ style of play definitely is more of a Palmer and he’s also able to fill in in a variety of defensive positions judging on his performances for City’s under-23 side in recent times.

The youngster probably could have stuck with City for the season in comfortable surroundings but he’s possibly gone out of his comfort zone to join Barnsley and if Gomes performs well in training then we may very well see him thrown straight into the mix after the international break.