James Rodriguez has been in the news all summer as the Colombian attacker has fallen out of favour under both Rafa Benitez and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid. There were talks of him leaving the club in summer but the 25-year-old decided to fight for a place in the European Champions' team. It is now being reported that Rodriguez is ready for a move to Manchester United in January or next summer.
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Manchester United have emerged as the favourites to sign Rodriguez as they look set to beat Arsenal's interest in him. Spurs were also interested in him in the summer but then backed off due to his hefty price tag. PSG and Juventus were also interested but United have the upper hand for the 25-year-old as both him and Jose Mourinho have the same agent in Jorge Mendes.
With the emergence of Marco Asensio in the first team and along with the preference given to Isco ahead of James, the Colombian will find it tough to get into the starting lineup this season and has played just 34 minutes this season. Zidane earlier had said that he has no plans to sell James as he stated after the UEFA Super Cup, “James is here, I am happy with how he played and he will be staying here. I will always respond in the same way to that. I'm tired of having to give a response. My stance is not going to change.”
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James who joined Real Madrid in 2014 in a deal worth £56 million after a successful World Cup for Colombia, has fallen by the wayside after a promising opening season at the Spanish capital. The midfielder had garnered interest from Chelsea and Juventus too as both the clubs had a strong interest in the Colombian.
Chelsea, in fact, had sent a delegation to hold talks with Real Madrid but Zidane had stated that he is not for sale at any cost. Also with Rodriguez being a Perez favourite, it was difficult to see James leave this summer. Real have set a price around £42 million for Rodriguez who will find a host of suitors once Madrid decides to offload him.
It is being reported that Rodriguez has told his agent that he favours a move to Old Trafford after seeing many high profile names joining the Red Devils this summer. With a two-window transfer imposed on the Los Blancos, it will be interesting to see if Real can reject a big money offer for the Colombian who has not been able to impress Zidane.
