Everton’s busy summer in the transfer window continued yesterday with the signing of Spanish U21 international forward Sandro Ramirez from Malaga after his £5.3 million release clause was triggered.
The 21-year-old penned a four-year deal with the Toffees and has been handed the No. 9 shirt.
Speaking to the club’s official website, manager Ronald Koeman revealed some of the qualities he believes Sandro will add to his side:
“There was a lot of interest in Sandro because, of course, he’s a goalscorer, he’s young and he has a big future in the game. We have been trying to bring in good players so we can have greater productivity in the team and he will bring that. He will bring a lot of good qualities and he’s a really good goalscorer, too.”
The History
After starting out at his hometown club Las Palmas, Ramirez joined Barcelona’s youth set-up in 2009 at the age of 14.
He progressed through the ranks to feature for Barcelona B before scoring the only goal as a substitute in a 1-0 win over Villarreal on his first-team debut in August 2014.
Ramirez made six further substitute appearances over the next few months, scoring one goal, but spent the rest of the season back in the ‘B’ side.
The 2015/16 season saw Ramirez continue to struggle to establish himself in the first-team squad. He made 20 appearances in all competitions, with the majority coming off the bench, as he registered three goals and two assists.
Barcelona decided to release Ramirez last summer, La Liga outfit Malaga signing the attacker on a three-year contract.
Ramirez enjoyed a sensational campaign, totalling 14 goals and five assists in 30 league appearances, playing almost exclusively as a central striker.
Capped at U17, U18, U19 and U21 levels by Spain, scoring 13 goals in 18 appearances, Ramirez was part of the Spanish side that lost 1-0 to Germany in the final of the UEFA European U21 Championship.
The Prospects
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin the only forward other than Romelu Lukaku currently in the Everton squad, the need for Koeman to bolster his attacking options was plain to see.
That’s also compounded by the fact that Lukaku and Ross Barkley – who is also expected to depart over the summer – were the only Everton players to score at least five times last term, netting 25 and five goals respectively.
Lukaku admitted last month that he does not expect to be playing his football at Goodison Park this season, so the addition of Sandro is certainly a welcome one.
The Spaniard may only arrive in England with one season of experience as a regular starter, but he has considerable potential, capable of playing centrally as he did last term, or out wide as was the case during much of his time at Barcelona.
Spanish football expert David Cartlidge outlined some of Sandro’s main strengths – his goalscoring instincts, the ability to hold the ball up and bring his team-mates into play – while the Spaniard himself cited what he sees as the qualities that will see him thrive in the Premier League:
“My key strength is goalscoring. It’s always good to bring goals to a team and that’s what I’m hoping to do. My game is making runs off the ball, trying to find space, putting in a lot of effort and running hard. I think that’s an advantage in the Premier League.”
While standing at just 5ft 7 in tall, Sandro possesses reasonable strength, which allows him to shield the ball effectively, and with his speed can quickly spin away from defenders to initiate attacks.
From a Fantasy perspective, his free-kick taking abilities certainly catch the eye, with five of his 14 league goals last term coming from outside the box.
Sandro boasts terrific technique when striking a dead-ball and looks a genuine threat every time he shoots from distance.
That ability perhaps explains why he impressively averaged a shot every 25.17 minutes last season, better than Lukaku (29.7).
The Belgian’s strengths as a poacher are illustrated by the fact he fared better in terms of minutes per attempt inside the box, averaging one every 40.83 minutes, compared to 53.86 for Sandro.
In terms of creativity, there was little to choose between the pair, with Lukaku registering a key pass every 69.51 minutes, slightly superior to Sandro (72.38).
Given that Lukaku totalled 25 goals and six assists in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) last season, those underlying statistics are pretty encouraging regarding Sandro’s prospects heading into the new campaign.
The difficulty in judging Sandro’s appeal for 2017/18 is the fact the Toffees look sure to add to their striking resources this summer should Lukaku depart as expected.
Bearing in mind Sandro’s age and relative lack of first-team experience, the Toffees could well look to add an older striker, with AC Milan’s Carlos Bacca and Napoli’s Duvan Zapata among the forwards linked, with a move for Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud also mooted in recent days.
Koeman’s penchant for target men up top could also dictate where the new boy plays. Essentially, Sandro won a mere eight headers in La Liga last season and bearing in mind that Koeman has opted for the likes of Lukaku and Graziano Pelle as his preferred lone strikers at Everton and Southampton respectively, the new boy could be utilised in a central support berth or out wide.
The timing of such a move may have an influence on the price handed to Sandro in FPL, with the Spaniard perhaps set to come in around the 7.0 to 8.0 mark and potentially handing us a viable option in the mid-price bracket.
But the horrendous fixture list following an opening day home clash against Stoke City (mci, che, TOT, mun) means the 21-year-old is unlikely to feature in our Gameweek 1 plans unless he makes a very strong impression during pre-season.
In addition, it is often wise to show caution when considering new arrivals to the Premier League. We can perhaps be less wary of genuine world class talents but we can’t put Sandro in that bracket just yet. Only one of top 25 points scorers in FPL last season were without Premier League experience – Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
But providing that Sandro can settle into life on Merseyside, he looks to have the technical ability and desire to flourish at Goodison Park.
Sandro’s signing could be one of the best value moves made this summer, and if he can secure a regular starting place and is priced favourably, he may well be a factor in FPL once the tough early fixtures are out of the way.
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