Sandro Ramirez could leave Everton in January after nightmare start to Goodison Park spell

Everton forward Sandro Ramirez could be on his way out of Goodison Park in the January transfer window after enduring an awful start to his career on Merseyside, according to reports in Spain.

Sandro joined the Toffees from La Liga outfit Malaga during the summer having impressed during his sole season at La Rosaleda, scoring 14 goals to help Los Boquerones stave off the lingering threat of relegation.

Atletico Madrid were very interested in signing the former Barcelona youth graduate and would have probably signed him if it was not for their player registration ban. Atletico's loss seemed to be Everton's gain; the Toffees exercised the 22-year-old's €6m release clause to bring him to Merseyside as soon as Spain's run in the Under-21 European Championship came to an end.

There was a sense of excitement around the signing of Sandro, who was reportedly being monitored by Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid, but after five starts in all competitions the versatile attacker has failed to impress and has not figured in any of Everton's last four matchday squads.

Everton interim boss David Unsworth saw fit to ring the changes for his side's 3-0 Europa League defeat by Lyon on Thursday, but even then the former defender could not find room for Sandro, who is of interest to a host of clubs in Spain according to an excerpt from Marca, relayed by Sport Witness.

Sandro's stock in his home country has not been diminished by his struggles on Merseyside and a number of clubs are said to be interested in him ahead of the January transfer window, but he would no doubt have to take a substantial pay-cut in order to leave Everton, if that's what he so desires.

It remains to be seen if Unsworth decides to bring Sandro in from the cold for Everton's crucial clash against Watford on Sunday, with the Toffees in desperate need of a focal point in attack, but 'Rhino' seems to prefer Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse to the Spaniard, who was once on Tottenham's radar.