Real Madrid in ‘advanced talks’ to sell James Rodriguez to Everton
Real Madrid are reportedly getting close to selling James Rodriguez to Everton.
It seems like every summer, James Rodriguez is linked to Carlo Ancelotti. James and “Don Carlo” forged a great relationship together at Real Madrid and then at Bayern Munich during the Colombian’s loan deal, which included a successful first year under Ancelotti’s leadership. Last summer, James was linked to Napoli, and now this summer, the Everton rumors started up.
James has been rumored to be joining several Premier League sides. Tottenham, Arsenal, and even Manchester United have been mentioned. Outside of England, clubs like PSG, Atletico Madrid, and even Milan have been mentioned.
But all roads go back to Ancelotti and Everton, evidently. According to Sky Italia’s Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid and Everton are in “advanced talks” for a deal that would send James Rodriguez to the Toffees in the “next days”.
To nobody’s surprise, Romano reports that Ancelotti personally called his old friend James up in order to convince him to make the move.
Real Madrid must sell James Rodriguez this summer
James is guaranteed to leave Real Madrid this summer, and unlike Gareth Bale, he’s actually coming off a productive season. Only injuries and Zinedine Zidane not viewing James as a system fit hurt the playmaker, because James was playing high-quality football. He was even putting in strong shifts defensively, averaging more than two tackles per game in La Liga, per WhoScored.com
Real Madrid fans should be glad James is headed to the Premier League and to a team that isn’t yet a danger in the Champions League, because James is the kind of player who can hurt Los Blancos at another club. He’s still an excellent playmaker, as he literally led the team with 1.8 key passes per game in La Liga last season. James is a danger on set pieces, is capable of scoring, and is still magic with the ball at his feet.
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Many Madrid fans love James and are rooting for him to succeed elsewhere, especially with Ancelotti at Everton. Ancelotti commands a lot of respect from Madridistas, too. Fans understand that James was not an issue and remained professional in 2019-2020; he just wasn’t the right fit for Zidane and the system.