Real Madrid star James Rodriguez, currently on loan at Bayern Munich, reportedly has no interest in joining Premier League heavyweights Arsenal in the summer.
As per a report from Colombian outlet MARCA, Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez is set to snub interest from Premier League side Arsenal in order to stay and fight for his place at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 27-year-old is currently in his second season on loan at German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, having been signed by Carlo Ancelotti in the summer of 2017. James has featured 16 times for the Bavarians this season under Niko Kovac, scoring three goals and registering four assists.
Bayern have the option of making his stay permanent by paying Real Madrid a transfer fee of €42 million at the end of his loan spell. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely that Bayern would trigger that clause, with the report from MARCA claiming that the player himself is keen on returning to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
This comes as a blow for Premier League side Arsenal, who had expressed interest in making a move for James in the January transfer window. The Gunners wanted to sign the playmaker on loan initially, before making the move permanent at the end of the season and to that end, had made contact with Real Madrid as well.
While nothing materialized in the winter transfer window, the report from MARCA claims that Arsenal remain keen on signing him in the summer transfer window, especially with German playmaker Mesut Ozil’s future at the club looking far from certain, according to an alternate report from The Telegraph.
However, James has little intentions of securing a move to the Premier League at the moment. The 27-year-old Colombian international has his focus completely on earning a place back in the Real Madrid starting lineup next season, when he returns after his loan spell runs out, as per MARCA.
James joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2014, after his sensational performances in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Colombian has featured 111 times for Los Blancos, netting 36 times and setting up 40 more, winning a La Liga title and two UEFA Champions League trophies in the process.
Having fallen out of favour under Zinedine Zidane, the 27-year-old secured a loan move to Bayern and won the Bundesliga title with the Bavarians in 2017-18. It looks certain that his stay in Germany will come to an end in a few months’ time, but it remains to be seen what lies ahead of him post that.
As far as Arsenal are concerned, any interest that they had in signing the playmaker is likely to have reduced after these latest developments. Gunners manager Unai Emery would clearly be better off pursuing alternate targets in the summer.
