Malaga frontman Sandro Ramirez has been tipped to join Atletico Madrid – but he would get far more game-time at Ronald Koeman’s Everton.
While you can’t fault West Ham’s ambition, it always appeared distinctly unlikely that Alexandre Lacazette would have been enticed by the prospect of donning claret and blue last summer, as reported by Sky Sports.
The prolific Frenchman has bigger fish to fry after all, and the prospect of fighting for the Champions League title will appeal more than scrapping for a top half finish in England.
According to Sky Sports, Lyon talisman Lacazette has agreed to join Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid this summer subject to Los Rojiblancos successfully overturning their FIFA imposed transfer ban.
The high-profile struggles of Jackson Martinez and, to a lesser extent, Mario Mandzukic may raise doubts over whether Lacazette can succeed under the ultra-demanding Argentine coach.
Yet, with 76 goals in 97 Ligue 1 games since the beginning of 2014, the prospect of a Francophile duopoly of Lacazette and Antoine Griezmann at the newly constructed Wanda Metropolitano is enough to strike fear into any opposition backline.
Toffees’ sticking point?
Strangely enough, however, Everton may also find themselves celebrating one of the summer’s marquee moves. Spanish football oracle Guillem Balague claimed that Sandro Ramirez was favouring a move to Atletico despite reported interest from Everton, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Sandro Ramirez during his time at Barcelona
With a £5 million buyout clause in his contract, the Malaga forward will be one of the bargains of the season. However, despite his ability to lead the line or cut in from the left, Sandro would hardly be guaranteed regular game time in the Spanish capital.
Not with Lacazette joining Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Nico Gaitan and Angel Correa in competing for one of the attacking positions.
At Everton, however, the 14-goal youngster would surely be one of the first names on Ronald Koeman’s team-sheet.
And Sandro knows all too well the problems of falling into the cracks at a major club. After all, he was barely given a chance at Barcelona and his debut season at Malaga shows that he is a confidence player in need of regular minutes.
He’s more likely to get that at Everton.
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