Why Everton should avoid signing Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez

According to Spanish publication AS (h/t Daily Mail), Everton are interested in signing Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez.

James Rodriguez, 28, has failed to become a regular at Real Madrid since returning from a loan spell with Bayern Munich. He has started just four times in the La Liga this season as manager Zinedine Zidane has preferred other players in the attacking areas.

The report (h/t Daily Mail) adds that Real Madrid value the Colombian at around £34million, with Arsenal also interested in him. The Gunners are pressed for cash this month, meaning a loan deal would be more realistic. (h/t Daily Mail)

Meanwhile, Everton are placed 12th in the Premier League table. Carlo Ancelotti has made an immediate impact at the club, with the Toffees now playing a different style of football to what they did during Marco Silva’s reign.

The Toffees have loaned out Cenk Tosun to Crystal Palace until the end of the season but are yet to bring in a replacement.

The Merseysiders have struggled to score goals this season, with Ancelotti’s men managing just 28 in 24 games. Everton have a plethora of attacking players but only Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have lived up to their standards. Richarlison has been Everton’s best player this season and has been ably supported by Calvert-Lewin up front, with the duo scoring 8 and 10 goals respectively.

Moise Kean joined Everton from Juventus last summer but he is yet to fully adapt to the rigours of Premier League football. While it would be wise to give Kean some more time to get his mojo back, Ancelotti must not ignore reinforcing his forward department, especially after allowing Tosun to leave. Thus, the Italian should go for a striker and drop his interest in James Rodriguez.

James has won one La Liga title and two Champions League titles since arriving at Real Madrid. But injury problems and a massive dip in form over the last two years have significantly hampered his progress. The Colombian international suffered a knee ligament injury at the end of October this season and since returning from injury in January, he is yet to start a league game for Los Blancos.

Verdict

At the age of 28, James isn’t the player Everton are in need of. The Toffees have a lot of creative players in their ranks like Bernard, Sigurdsson and Richarlison etc. and signing the Colombian would make no sense whatsoever.