Angel Gomes

Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes (born 31 August 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Portuguese club Boavista, on loan from French club Lille.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Abreu and the second or paternal family name is De Almeida Gomes.

Angel Gomes
Gomes playing for Manchester United U18s in 2017
Personal information
Full name Adilson Angel Abreu de Almeida Gomes[1]
Date of birth (2000-08-31) 31 August 2000[2]
Place of birth Edmonton, London, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Boavista
(on loan from Lille)
Number 10
Youth career
2006–2017 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Manchester United 5 (0)
2020– Lille 0 (0)
2020– → Boavista (loan) 15 (3)
National team‡
2015–2016 England U16 9 (2)
2016–2017 England U17 12 (5)
2017 England U18 2 (0)
2018–2019 England U19 6 (1)
2019– England U20 6 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:50, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:57, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

He began his career with Manchester United at the age of five and progressed through the club's academy. When he made his first-team debut in May 2017, he became the youngest player to play for Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League. He made 10 appearances for the Manchester United first team in three years and was released at the end of his contract in July 2020. He signed for Lille in August 2020, but was immediately loaned out to Boavista.

He has captained England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 levels.

Club career

Early years

Gomes started training with the Manchester United academy at the age of six. When he was 13, he represented the under-17s at a tournament in Slovakia in October 2013, and during the 2014–15 season, aged just 14, he was twice named on the bench for the under-18s before making his debut as a substitute against Middlesbrough in their final league match.[4] In July 2015, Gomes captained the Manchester United under-15s at the Manchester United Premier Cup and was named Most Valuable Player, despite his team finishing in 12th place.[5]

Gomes signed as an academy scholar ahead of the 2016–17 season, and on 27 August 2016, he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick for Manchester United at academy level since 2001, despite starting the game on the bench. He also became the third youngest player to achieve the feat in the club's history at 15 years, 362 days.[6] After sustaining an injury in April 2017, Gomes was forced to miss the Dallas Cup.[7] With 12 goals in 19 starts he was the under-18s' top scorer that season, and in May 2017 he was voted as the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year, the youngest player ever to receiver the award.[8] The following day, he trained with the first team ahead of possible inclusion in the squad for the final Premier League game of the season.[9]

First-team breakthrough

Gomes made his first-team debut on 21 May 2017, replacing Wayne Rooney in the 88th minute of a 2–0 home victory over Crystal Palace.[10] At 16 years, 263 days old, he became the youngest player to represent Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953, as well as the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the Premier League.[11]

On 13 December 2017, Gomes signed his first professional contract with Manchester United,[12] and on 26 January 2018, he made his FA Cup debut, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Marcus Rashford in a 4–0 victory against Yeovil Town in the Fourth Round.[13]

On 25 July 2019, Gomes scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 pre-season friendly win against Tottenham Hotspur.[14] However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during the 2019–20 season, playing just six times in all competitions. Despite protracted negotiations, Manchester United were unable to sign Gomes to a contract extension, and he was released on 30 June 2020.[15][16]

2020–21 season: Loan to Boavista

On 4 August 2020, Gomes signed a five-year contract with French club Lille, and was immediately loaned out to Portuguese club Boavista for the 2020–21 campaign.[17] On his league debut for Boavista, Gomes registered a hat-trick of assists and was awarded man of the match in a 3–3 draw against C.D. Nacional. In a match against Moreirense on 2 October 2020, Gomes scored his first goal for the club, a wonder strike from the halfway line.[18] On 2 November, Gomes won a penalty and then converted the spot-kick in a 3–0 win against Benfica.[19]

International career

In addition to his native England, Gomes is also eligible to represent Angola and Portugal.[20]

Gomes began his international career in August 2015, when he made two appearances for England at under-16 level, both against the United States. He captained the under-16s on two occasions while making a further seven appearances.[4][21]

He was called up to the under-17s in August 2016, and scored four minutes into his debut while captaining his nation to a 3–1 victory over Belgium. Gomes added another two goals and an assist in his second appearance; a 5–0 win over Croatia.[22] In October, he scored again in an 8–1 win against Germany.[23] Gomes also scored in qualification for the UEFA Under-17 Championship, but missed out on the tournament in May 2017 due to injury.[24] Gomes scored the fourth goal in England's opening game of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with an 81st-minute free-kick as they beat Chile 4–0.[25] He ultimately captained the team to their first U-17 World Cup title.[26]

He made his debut at under-18 level on 1 September 2017, when he captained England in a 0–0 draw with Brazil.[21][27]

Gomes made his England U20 debut during a 0–0 draw against the Netherlands on 5 September 2019.[28]

Style of play

Gomes' preferred position is as an attacking midfielder.[29] His playing style has been compared to that of Ronaldinho due to his creativity, composure and dribbling.[30] In January 2015, Nani described Gomes as Manchester United's next star.[31] Manchester United graduate Danny Webber said: "Gomes is still very small, but he sees the game seconds before others. Angel is like Paul Scholes; he can dictate a game with his intelligence."[32]

Personal life

Gomes is the son of Angolan-born former Portugal under-21 international Gil Gomes, and was born in Edmonton, Greater London during his father's time at Hendon.[33][34] The family moved to the Manchester area when Gil joined Middlewich Town, and settled in Salford, where Gomes grew up.[35] Former Manchester United winger Nani is Gomes' godfather.[36]

Career statistics
As of match played 5 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2016–17[37] Premier League 100000000010
2017–18[38] Premier League 001000000010
2018–19[39] Premier League 20000000—20
2019–20[40] Premier League 2000103[lower-alpha 3]0—60
Total 5010103000100
Manchester United U21 2019–20[40] ————2[lower-alpha 4]020
Lille 2020–21[41] Ligue 1 0000—00—00
Boavista (loan) 2020–21[3] Primeira Liga 1532000——173
Career total 20330103020293
  1. Includes FA Cup, Coupe de France, Taça de Portugal
  2. Includes League/EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

England U17

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  2. "Angel Gomes: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. "Angel Gomes". ForaDeJogo.net. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  4. "Player profile – Angel Gomes". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  5. Marshall, Adam (24 July 2015). "Gomes scoops Manchester United Premier Cup MVP award". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  6. Kerr, Joshua (3 September 2016). "Angel Gomes' historic hat-trick for Under-18s". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  7. Marshall, Adam (7 April 2017). "Manchester United announce squad for Dallas Cup". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  8. Marshall, Adam (18 May 2017). "Angel Gomes voted Jimmy Murphy Youth Team Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  9. Marshall, Adam (19 May 2017). "Team news update – United v Crystal Palace". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  10. Allen, Jamie (21 May 2017). "Report: Manchester United 2 Crystal Palace 0". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  11. Hafez, Shamoon (21 May 2017). "Manchester United 2–0 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  12. "Gomes signs professional contract". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  13. Garry, Tom (26 January 2018). "Yeovil Town 0–4 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  14. Ganley, Joe (25 July 2019). "Reds see off rivals Spurs in Shanghai". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  15. Whitwell, Laurie (29 June 2020). "Angel Gomes rejected 'very good' United offer in search of first-team chances". The Athletic. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  16. "Confirmed: Angel Gomes leaves United". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  17. "Angel Gomes signs for Lille after leaving Manchester United, loaned to Boavista". Sky Sports. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  18. "Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford reveals he hopes to play with Angel Gomes again". Metro. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  19. "Boavista rock Benfica to leave Sporting top of the table, as FC Porto lose once more". Portugoal. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  20. Tighe, Sam (2 November 2016). "Scouting Angel Gomes: Manchester United's David Silva-Esque Midfield Talent". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  21. "Angel Gomes". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  22. "England U17s kick-off Croatia Cup with 5–0 win over hosts". The Football Association. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  23. "England U17s secure 8–1 victory over Germany in Croatia". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  24. Austin, Jack (19 May 2017). "Who is Angel Gomes? Manchester United's new Young Player of the Year profiled". The Independent. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  25. "World Cup goal for Gomes". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  26. Hafez, Shamoon (17 January 2019). "England's U17 World Cup winners – where are they now?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  27. "Young Lions held at home in their first preparation game for next month's World Cup". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  28. "England U20s kick off new campaign with a goalless draw against Holland". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  29. Dawson, Rob (19 May 2017). "Meet Angel Gomes, the 16-year-old rewriting Man United's history books". ESPN FC. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  30. Varney, Alex (12 November 2016). "Angel Gomes: Profile on England and Manchester United sensation eyed by Barcelona". Talksport. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  31. "Nani hails Angel Gomes as Man Utd's next star". The Peoples Person. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  32. Porter, Alex (19 May 2017). "Who is Angel Gomes? Manchester United player profile". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  33. Smith, Peter (19 May 2017). "Who is Angel Gomes? We profile the Man Utd and England youngster". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  34. "A Man Utd XI of players born in London". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  35. Porter, Alex (20 May 2017). "Could Angel Gomes become Manchester United's youngest ever player?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  36. Marshall, Adam (29 July 2017). "Exclusive interview: Angel Gomes". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  37. "Games played by Angel Gomes in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  38. "Games played by Angel Gomes in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  39. "Games played by Angel Gomes in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  40. "Games played by Angel Gomes in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  41. "Games played by Angel Gomes in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  42. Rostance, Tom (28 October 2017). "England win U17 World Cup: Young Lions fight back to beat Spain in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
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