OPINION
Everton fans were delighted to see five new faces turn out for them in their Europa League game on Thursday night and the cameo appearance of Sandro Ramirez should have them very excited.
The Toffees delivered a fairly average performance to edge past Slovakian opposition MFK Ruzomberok 1-0 in the first leg of their third qualifying round.
They now hold a slender lead for the away leg and Ronald Koeman got a first look at his side this season in competitive action.
Everton fans produced a sell-out crowd at Goodison Park and most were hugely excited about the return of Wayne Rooney following his transfer from Manchester United.
The former England captain was unable to make a dream goalscoring return to the Merseyside club, while Koeman also handed summer arrivals Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane and Cuco Martina starting XI roles.
Sandro was the last of the transfer additions to be introduced when he was substituted on in the 61st minute and the Spaniard gave an electric performance.
The 22-year-old striker moved into the central striker position and his pace and movement asked questions of the opposition’s defence.
He managed to give Everton a much-needed lift when he entered the action and his display suggested that he can be the star man to lead the line, despite a dream return to his boyhood club for Rooney.
Sandro joined the Premier League side this summer for just £5.2million from Malaga and he could turn out to be the bargain of the season.
The forward impressed in Spain during the last campaign for the La Liga outfit, scoring 16 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions.
He was only given a second-half role by Koeman due to his late return to training, which was caused by his involvement in Spain’s Under-21s side finishing as European Championship runners-up.
Sandro has untapped potential that can be nurtured by Koeman and the early signs are looking very promising that he can become an Everton star.