Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that the club sign Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez in the summer.
According to Spanish publication MARCA, the 57-year-old wants to reunite with his former player at the Allianz Arena and has reportedly asked the Bayern Munich hierarchy to bring the Colombian to Bavaria in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report states that the higher-ups at Bayern Munich see eye to eye with Ancelotti with regard to Rodriguez and have given their approval for the move. Real Madrid also believe that the Bavarian giants will be willing to pay €80 million for James, the same fee they paid AS Monaco in 2014.
The report further goes on to state that James would ‘jump’ at the prospect of switching Madrid for Munich. This is mainly due to the fact that he has played a largely bit part role at the club over the course of the past two seasons under Zinedine Zidane.
Despite winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, 2016 was a frustrating year for the 25-year-old. He was left out of both those finals last year and has made only 25 appearances in all competitions this season.
He has constantly been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu, but only last week refuted all those claims. Post their 1-4 victory against SD Eibar, he said: “I always want to be here. You never know what’s going to happen, but I want to stay here.”
However, given his age and his tremendous quality, it is unlikely that the former AS Monaco midfielder will want to stay on the Spanish Capital if he is restricted to appearances from the bench and left out for the bigger games and James will surely have no shortage of offers in the summer.
James was brought from AS Monaco in the summer of 2014 after an impressive World Cup campaign in Brazil, while Ancelotti was still the manager of Real Madrid. He had his best season under the Italian, getting 17 goals and 18 assists in 46 games.
Despite winning the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup that year, Ancelotti would be sacked at the end of the season and would be replaced by Rafa Benitez. The Italian would later go on to join Bayern Munich at the start of this campaign, replacing Pep Guardiola.
While James will surely not be assured of a starting position in a club like Bayern, who already boast the likes of Vidal and Thiago in their ranks, Ancelotti’s shift to the new 4-2-3-1 formation this will be more accommodating of the his abilities and provide him with more opportunities.
However, with other European heavyweights such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus all reported to be interested in the Colombian, Ancelotti and Bayern Munich will face tough competition for James in what could quite possibly turn out to be the biggest bidding war of the summer.
Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that the club sign Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez in the summer.
According to Spanish publication MARCA, the 57-year-old wants to reunite with his former player at the Allianz Arena and has reportedly asked the Bayern Munich hierarchy to bring the Colombian to Bavaria in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report states that the higher-ups at Bayern Munich see eye to eye with Ancelotti with regard to Rodriguez and have given their approval for the move. Real Madrid also believe that the Bavarian giants will be willing to pay €80 million for James, the same fee they paid AS Monaco in 2014.
The report further goes on to state that James would ‘jump’ at the prospect of switching Madrid for Munich. This is mainly due to the fact that he has played a largely bit part role at the club over the course of the past two seasons under Zinedine Zidane.
Despite winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, 2016 was a frustrating year for the 25-year-old. He was left out of both those finals last year and has made only 25 appearances in all competitions this season.
He has constantly been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu, but only last week refuted all those claims. Post their 1-4 victory against SD Eibar, he said: “I always want to be here. You never know what’s going to happen, but I want to stay here.”
However, given his age and his tremendous quality, it is unlikely that the former AS Monaco midfielder will want to stay on the Spanish Capital if he is restricted to appearances from the bench and left out for the bigger games and James will surely have no shortage of offers in the summer.
James was brought from AS Monaco in the summer of 2014 after an impressive World Cup campaign in Brazil, while Ancelotti was still the manager of Real Madrid. He had his best season under the Italian, getting 17 goals and 18 assists in 46 games.
Despite winning the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup that year, Ancelotti would be sacked at the end of the season and would be replaced by Rafa Benitez. The Italian would later go on to join Bayern Munich at the start of this campaign, replacing Pep Guardiola.
While James will surely not be assured of a starting position in a club like Bayern, who already boast the likes of Vidal and Thiago in their ranks, Ancelotti’s shift to the new 4-2-3-1 formation this will be more accommodating of the his abilities and provide him with more opportunities.
However, with other European heavyweights such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus all reported to be interested in the Colombian, Ancelotti and Bayern Munich will face tough competition for James in what could quite possibly turn out to be the biggest bidding war of the summer.