Has Sandro just spurned Everton in favor of Real Madrid?

Shortly after Spain’s win against Italy today in the U21 Euro semifinal, a report from Spanish radio stated that not only had Real Madrid been speaking to and scouting Sandro Ramirez, they have now reached an agreement to sign him.

Real Madrid are set to sign Malaga striker Sandro Ramirez for €6 million, according to Onda Cero. The young attacker and Madrid have reached an agreement and Los Blancos will pay his release clause, per that same report.

If true, losing out on Sandro after weeks of work represents a setback for Everton. Other strikers can be found - better ones, too - but Ronald Koeman and Steve Walsh will not take kindly to potentially having wasted this much time pursuing a single player.

Ramirez would likely replace Alvaro Morata as Karim Benzema’s main backup, and probably has no impact on whether or not Los Merengues are able to sign Kylian Mbappe.

Everton can offer more playing time than Real Madrid, but will fall short when it comes to both wages and club prestige. If Sandro has well and truly chosen Real Madrid, it’s a foolish decision for his career. He has one good top flight season, and jumping directly to what could be termed the world’s biggest club may throw a huge wrench in his development.

The Sandro transfer negotiations have been incredibly frustrating. Whether the problem stems from Malaga, the player, or the player’s agent is unknown, but I think it’s safe to say we’ll all be glad when this is truly over.