Angel Gomes is “one of the greatest talents in Europe”, according to Lille director of football Luis Campos, who has tipped the former Manchester United starlet to reach the top once he develops his all-round game. Gomes broke into United’s first team as a teenager back in 2017, having spent the previous 11 years making his way through the club’s youth ranks.

However, the 20-year-old was unable to establish himself as a regular at senior level, featuring in just 10 games across all competitions for the Red Devils before his contract expired earlier this summer.

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United was eager to tie the playmaker down to fresh terms, but he opted to leave the club in search of regular playing time, with Lille eventually snapping him up on a five-year contract as a free agent. Gomes was immediately sent out on loan to Boavista for the duration of the 2020-21 season and impressed on his debut for the Portuguese club during a 3-3 draw with Nacional on Saturday.

The England Under-20 international set up all three goals for Vasco Seabra’s side to give fans an exciting glimpse of what he will bring to the team over the course of the campaign, and will be in line to feature once again during a clash with reigning Primeira Liga champions Porto this weekend. Campos believes Gomes will begin to full his potential at Estadio do Bessa with a view to returning to Lille and establishing himself on an even bigger stage next summer.

“It has to do with the need for him to complete his training,” Campos told O Jogo when asked to discuss the French club’s decision to loan out the former United midfielder. “Angel needs to play 30-40 games in one season and I think that, if everything goes well, he will demonstrate that he is one of the greatest talents in Europe.

“We are talking about a player who was the captain of the England team which won the Under-17 World Cup, and who is also, I think, the captain of the England U20s. “He is a player that I had to watch several times live, both in the Manchester United teams and in the youth teams. For me, I repeat, he is one of the greatest European talents of today.

“It is necessary to create conditions so that all this talent can explode. I believe that Boavista and his coach can help him in that sense. “He will play in a league that can grow his individual level so that, in the future, he can play at an even higher and more demanding level.”

Goal.com