Reported Everton target James Rodriguez looks set to remain with Real Madrid, according to reports.
The Colombian playmaker had emerged earlier this week as a surprise target for new Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti, with the Toffees struggling for creativity in midfield.
The report had claimed that the Toffees would make an audacious offer of around €50million to land the former Porto and Monaco star, who has fallen out of favour under Zinedine Zidane in the Spanish capital.
However, fresh reports claim that Rodriguez is very much part of Zidane’s plans, and that Rodriguez won’t be leaving any time soon.
Diario AS (via Liverpool Echo Live Blog) claim that Rodriguez has been missing for Los Blancos as he hasn’t been fully fit, and that when is set to come back into the frame once his fitness is up to speed.
Zidane reportedly believes that the Colombia international has a part to play in the second half of the season as Madrid continue to chase Barcelona in La Liga.
However, the report also does claim that Rodriguez could leave in January, but only if Real Madrid see an opportunity to bring in one of their major targets, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe provided as an example.
Read Everton Verdict
It always seemed that Everton had a very slim chance at ever landing James Rodriguez. Naturally after appointing Carlo Ancelotti, Everton have seen many of his former players linked to the club, but James always seemed like one of the more unrealistic “targets”.
Everton certainly need more creativity in midfield, though, so that area needs to be explored. The club suffered against Manchester City on Wednesday when they had no one to play between the lines and bridge the gap between midfield and attack, blunting any forward momentum the club could build.
Ancelotti will likely have plenty of targets and options for January, but filling that position should be consider as high a priority as finding a new centre-back.
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