What next for Christian Ramirez and Aberdeen? Striker's Stateside returns raises fan fears over future

USA international Christian Ramirez was the toast of Aberdeen but his campaign started to fizzle before his abrupt departure on Tuesday.

The California native made the move from the Houston Dynamo to the Granite City last summer and is one of the club's highest earners.

But manager Jim Goodwin revealed he has sent the striker home a week early to "recharge his batteries" after his form has dipped under the former St Mirren boss' tenure.

Ramirez has scored 16 goals in 51 appearances for the Granite City club but his last goal came against Motherwell in February - in what would be the last game in charge for former boss Stephen Glass.

His hasty exit with two Premiership games to play has caught many of the Red Army off guard.

And now some believe we may have seen the last of the American striker in Scottish football, with some not having it that the Dons can let their top scorer leave on holiday early when there's games against St Johnstone and St Mirren still to be played.

Despite the distraction, Aberdeen have put to bed any relegation worries with four points against Dundee and Hibs condemning the Dens Park club and St Johnstone to the bottom two.

Record Sport takes a look at Ramirez' time in Scotland and assess where his future lies.

Earlier in his career, Ramirez had been a prolific forward in MLS with Minnesota United and Los Angeles FC and that put him onto the fringes of the USA national team where he earned two caps, scoring once.

And he couldn't have got off to a better start in Scotland after bagging four goals in his first four games, including a double against Breidablik in a Europa Conference League qualifier.

Ramirez raced into double figures earlier in the season than any Aberdeen player besides