Manchester United have been given an opportunity to sign Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez in the summer.
According to Sky Sports, Manchester United have been offered a chance to sign Real Madrid’s wantaway star James Rodriguez in the summer. The Colombian has fallen down the pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu, and is expected to move to a club abroad.
After being taken off in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Sevilla, James applauded the home fans, thanking them for the support they’ve given him throughout his time at the Spanish outfit.
It appeared that he was bidding farewell to the fans and to the club, and he is highly likely to depart from the Spanish capital in the summer. James has been linked with Manchester United and their cross-town rivals City, but it appears that he will be joining the former.
Alex Porter of Manchester Evening News has gone a step further than the Sky Sports report to suggest that Manchester United have already secured the signing of the player, and are expected to make a public announcement on Sunday.
James moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 after a successful World Cup campaign with Colombia – where he introduced himself to the footballing world on the grandest stage of them all.
He was expected to play a limited role in his first year at the club and slowly adapt into becoming a first-team regular. However, given the star cast present in the Real roster, James saw himself being restricted to the role of a fringe player.
Despite not being an immediate part of Zinedine Zidane’s plans for the past two seasons, the Colombian boasts impressive numbers. In 109 appearances made for Real Madrid, James has found the back of the net on 36 occasions.
He was also part of the team that lifted the Champions League last season, so he will undoubtedly bring a certain winning mentality to the table for Manchester United. The Red Devils have not been a club unwilling to loosen their purse strings and are expected to pay £65 million to secure the player’s services.
That being said, James is an out-and-out number 10 and has not been overly successful playing out wide for Real Madrid. United currently have Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata (on occasion) vying for the berth in behind the striker.
With the three aforementioned players unlikely to leave in the summer, adding another one to the mix, will make things a tad complicated for the manager. It will, thus, be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho plans his team all these players alongside James next season.
