According to Sky Sports, Everton are closing in on James Rodriguez and could agree a deal with Real Madrid on Wednesday. And according to Elespectador, the 29-year-old’s move to Goodison Park could be confirmed in a few hours. James moving to Everton didn’t seem possible this summer, but he’s reportedly jumping at the chance to renew acquaintances with Carlo Ancelotti and would be an impressive acquisition.
Should we be signing James?
There are pros and cons to this deal. Marcel Brands was tasked with lowering our squad’s average age by replacing ageing deadwood with young equivalents, so signing James would have the opposite effect – he turned 29 in July and suffered multiple injuries last season (calf knee, hip). James only made the squad for 25 of Real’s 51 games, so we may not get a full season out of him.
The Colombian international is a talented playmaker, however. James has made 125 appearances in all competitions for Real, scoring 37 goals with 42 assists – goal/assist every 100 minutes on average. During his loan spell at Bayern Munich (July 12, 2017 – June 30, 2019), he scored 15 goals and made 20 assists in 67 games across the board – goal/assist every 123 minutes on average.
Even before Real, James scored 32 goals with 41 assists in 108 games at FC Porto (July 6, 2010 – July 1, 2013) and scored 10 goals with 14 assists in 38 games at AS Monaco (July 1, 2013 – July 22, 2014), so he’s been a proven contributor in the final third.
Where will he fit in the squad?
Carlo Ancelotti has mostly used a 4-4-2 formation during his time at Everton, but he did plump for a 4-2-3-1 at the beginning which could make a comeback to accompany James. The 29-year-old normally operates behind the striker, so we’ll need a playmaker role for him to fill next season. He’s an improvement on Gylfi Sigurdsson should supply the bullets for Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Ancelotti has plumped for a 4-3-3 with past clubs too, so could we line up with Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin and James in a front three?
Summary
James would be an incredible signing who could attract more high-profile players to Goodison Park, but he’s a gamble. The 29-year-old isn’t getting any younger and has injury problems which could rear their head next season. But time will tell.
In other news, Everton have 34 days to sell a player who’s been on the transfer list since 2018