Real
Madrid's campaign continues to provide interest and excitement,
along with clues as to the direction the club might take next season regardless
of whether or not the current one ends with silverware.
With Zinedine Zidane offering
little to criticise in terms of his results as head coach, he'll surely begin
2016-17 in charge—and it is becoming more apparent with every passing week
which players he regards as important and which are expendable.
One
of those who continues to be marginalised at Real is James
Rodriguez, with the Colombian star linked with a move away after
playing only 393 minutes since the end of February, from a possible 13 games—or
1,170 minutes.
The
Colombian, though, has limited options to choose from, and it makes picking the
next step of his career a tricky but vital task as he prepares to turn 25 in
July.
Interest
The
rumours have been circulating around James' future for most of the current
campaign, and they haven't slowed down in the past few months as he sat on the
sidelines.
In
the Spanish media, AS reported
(h/t the Independent's Jack de
Menezes) both Isco and
James had failed to impress Zidane and would be moved on in the summer,
with Manchester
United the
big admirers of the Colombian attacking midfielder.
Marca suggested
(h/t De Menezes) Real would prefer to keep hold of
James but any offers of around the same total they paid for him—an eye-watering
€80 million (£62.2 million)—could change things.
Guillem Balague,
meanwhile, said Real Madrid wanted to offload Cristiano Ronaldo, but being
unable to do so meant they would sacrifice James in order to fund new signings,
per Sky Sports (h/t Marc Williams of the Daily Star).
Alternatively,
Paris Saint-Germain hold an interest in James, according to the Independent (h/t Univision Deportes, link in
Spanish), who said Laurent Blanc wanted to add the player to his front
line.
Elsewhere,
the suggestions are largely the same: Diario Gol's Fernando Rodrigo (link in Spanish)
reported back in November that agent JorgeMendes was pressuring Florentino Perez
into selling Ronaldo, or else he'd struggle to retain James, with PSG again
the destination.
The
clubs who can pay the going rate for James are few and far between. The teams
who can accommodate him in his best role are even fewer.
Comments
Post a Comment