The English Toni Kroos does not exist. Nor does the English Andrea Pirlo, the English Luka Modric, the English Rodri. Instinctively, everybody knows this. England doesn't have earthquakes, England doesn't grow citrus fruit and England doesn't produce technical central midfielders who can control a game and dictate the tempo of play. That's just the way it is.
Gomes is trying to be, the role he is being fitted for, is something that doesn't actually exist. Naturally, because football fans are impatient and adore the dopamine rush of making instant sweeping judgments, the impulse is to measure him against this stratospheric, borderline impossible standard. He's either the English Pirlo. Or he isn't. Good luck.
The deep-lying midfield role is not a position that lends itself to snap verdicts or quick conclusions. This is not a role assessed on moments, or flashes of genius, or goals or assists, but on longevity and dependability and metronomic consistency, the ability to do the right thing again and again and again.
At the highest levels of the game, where the pressing is ferocious and the centre-halves are spread wide and the margins are super-fine, it is a job akin to being the goalkeeper of the outfield. Your successes will be quickly forgotten, but your mistakes will always be disproportionately costly.
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