Henry Onyekuru is in prolific form for Anderlecht – which is more than can be said for Sandro Ramirez at Everton right now.
Everton landing Sandro Ramirez from Malaga looked like one of the most inspired bargains of the summer transfer window on paper.
Football is played on grass rather than a balance sheet, however. And, so far, Sandro has struggled to justify the £5.1 million The Independent reported that Everton paid La LIga side Malaga for his services.
Sandro netted 16 times for the Costa Del Sol outfit in 2016/17, but has failed to score in five Premier League appearances so far. And doubts are already emerging as to whether the former Barcelona youngster has the physicality to make the grade in England.
Sandro has looked lightweight so far and has been unable to make any sort of impact – the Spain under-21 international’s most recent appearance amounting to just eight minutes in a home defeat to Burnley.
Further down the pecking order?
With Henry Onyekuru confirming that he wants to return to Goodison Park in January, then, Sandro’s struggles are showing no signs of ending.
Everton pulled off a real coup bringing another of Europe’s most in-demand young strikers to Merseyside, paying £7 million for Onyekuru on the back of a 22-goal debut season for KAS Eupen.
Due to work permit issues, however, The Toffees were forced to send Onyekuru back to Belgium with Anderlecht on loan and, after scoring six in six, 90 MinutesGoal reported that Everton wanted to cancel his season-long deal a few months early.
“Everton are happy about my development. I’m expecting something. I’m hoping to go to Everton in January,” Onyekuru has said.
If the Nigerian does indeed return and hit the ground running, you wonder where this will leave Sandro.
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