Everton endured a transfer nightmare over Sandro Ramirez | OneFootball

Everton’s work in the transfer market in recent years has been questionable, to say the least, arguably preventing them from fulfilling their true potential under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri.

While the likes of Leicester City and Wolves have pushed the traditional ‘Big Six’ and won domestic trophies on a similar budget, the Toffees have had to settle for multiple mid-table finishes over the last few campaigns.

The likes of Davy Klaassen, Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott have all been brought to Goodison Park for big money and failed to live up to expectations, but arguably none were as big a disappointment as Sandro Ramirez.

In the summer of 2017, Everton forked out £5.25m to bring the former Barcelona academy graduate to English shores after an impressive campaign for Malaga.

During 2016/17, Ramirez bagged 16 goals and provided a further five assists in 31 appearances for the then La Liga outfit, catching the eye of Ronald Koeman and the club’s hierarchy, who handed him a four-year contract.

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“I’m very happy, this is a big step in my career,” Sandro told Evertontv at his unveiling (as relayed by Sky Sports). “I know I’m signing for a massive club in England.

“Everton is the ideal place for me, I’ve got the ideal manager who is going to keep giving me the confidence to improve my game.

“I cannot wait to wear the blue shirt in front of the Everton fans at Goodison Park. It’s a big jump in my career coming to the Premier League and for a club like Everton which is really on the up.”

However, things didn’t go to plan for the ex-Spain U21 international during his time on Merseyside.

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After starting just three Premier League games and scoring one goal in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Atalanta in the Europa League, Ramirez returned to his homeland in January via a short-term loan to Sevilla.

Spells at Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid followed on from his six-month stint with the Rojiblancos, but the diminutive forward only managed a return of four goals from 70 outings for the Spanish trio.

His shocking performances led to Everton releasing Ramirez on a free transfer in October 2020, despite the now 26-year-old still having a year left on his contract, before he signed for second-tier SD Huesca.