‘Tough time’: Pundit backs forgotten Everton man not seen since 2018

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Premier League outfit Everton paid just £5m to sign Sandro Ramirez in 2017 – but the former La Liga star has had a ‘tough time’ since then.

Everton’s forgotten man Sandro Ramirez is enduring another difficult season on loan at Real Valladolid though La Liga expert Terry Gibson has backed the striker to rediscover his golden touch eventually, speaking to El Tel & Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast.

It’s hard to believe now that, back in the summer of 2017, Sandro looked like one of the most inspired bargain signings anywhere in Europe.

A Spain U21 international arrived at Goodison Park for just £5 million after plundering 16 goals during a breakthrough season at Malaga. But, in the three years since his move to Merseyside, Sandro’s reputation, and his end product, appears to have evaporated.

His last appearance in Everton colours came in an EFL Cup clash against Rotherham United almost two years ago.

The former Barcelona youngster has only netted twice in La Liga since joining Valladolid in July with a long-range stunner against Mallorca in November ending a staggering 52-game drought.

But Gibson, who remembers Sandro’s explosive form at Malaga fondly, is confident that he still has enough time on his side to turn things around.

“I still see a player in him. I use the evidence of his form at Malaga. It’s clear he doesn’t have the confidence he had, he had a tough time at Everton and various clubs on loan,” says a former Tottenham and Manchester United ace who has spent many years covering Spanish football.

“He’s still only 24 and I still see the possibility there that he can recapture that form. It was a great goal, he took it really well.”

With Carlo Ancelotti now patrolling the Goodison Park touchline, Sandro may be hoping for a second chance at Everton before his contract comes to an end in the summer of 2021.

But, with Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Moise Kean and Anthony Gordon all tipped for a bright future on Merseyside, Sandro’s time might have passed.