Arsenal are reportedly interested in Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez, according to Spanish publication MARCA.
The Colombian international struggled in his second season at the Santiago Bernabeu last year, starting just 17 league games, and has found himself behind the likes of Gareth Bale and Isco in Zinedine Zidane’s pecking order.
However, he will not be allowed to leave Real on the cheap. It’s claimed that La Liga giants want £65m in return for the 25-year-old.
The 25-year-old star joined Real from Monaco in 2014 on the back of his stellar performances at the World Cup in Brazil, where he was one of the standout participants. Since then, however, he has failed to match fans’ expectations and has reportedly done nothing during Real’s pre-season campaign to make the club want to keep him.
Any deal will need to be done fast with just 15 days left of the transfer window. And that’s not the only complication to a possible late move.
Real are set to learn their fate over a FIFA-imposed transfer ban in the next few days. If sanctioned, the embargo on signing players for two transfer windows will prevent the club from bringing in any new stars for the entirety of 2017.
Although they can still sell players, it means they have to move fast if they wish to bring in a replacement. And here Chelsea have moved ahead of Arsenal in the race because they themselves need a player like James and are interested in doing a cash plus player deal involving Cesc Fabregas.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are instead known to be in the market for a striker and a defender. We don’t know what’s going to happen next but a signing is imminent after recent reports claiming Arsenal on the verge of signing Shkodran Mustafi.
What do you guys think ? Would Arsenal bid for James or go with Mustafi and Lacazette ?
