André Gomes' future remains uncertain, despite Everton being prepared to pay Barcelona a huge sum of money to pin the midfielder down on a permanent deal at Goodison Park.

But should Gomes return to Barcelona after his loan spell at the Toffees then manager Marco Silva would need find a suitable replacement for the Portuguese international.

And one player that the gaffer should definitely be monitoring is Schalke's Suat Serdar.

The 21-year-old only joined Schalke in the summer and has already proven his capabilities of playing in any position in the midfield this season.

The German club has struggled to pick up points this season and are currently 14th in the Bundesliga, but Serdar has been the highlight of the team and has he shown great resilience to adapt to his new team since making the move from FSV Mainz.

From an Everton point of view, the club will be in need of a player like that if the La Liga champions decide to call Gomes back to the Nou Camp for next season.

Like with Gomes, will Silva be able to ease Serdar into his midfield and give him leverage of playing as a more central midfielder.

Although the German is more familiar with playing as a holding midfielder, Schalke boss Domenico Tedesco has even used him as an attacking midfielder this campaign.

By playing next to Idrissa Gueye, Serdar will be able to move up in attack, while his speed and work rate will also be beneficial to the club on defence.

Serdar particularly impressed in the group stages of the Champions League this season where Schalke managed to qualify for the Round of 16.

Silva could get a better idea of what the midfielder is capable of when he faces Manchester City in February in the first knockout round of the competition.

The experience he has been gaining from competing on Europe's biggest stage at such a young age would also add to the importance of having him in a setup like Everton, who are looking to build a strong squad for the future.