Manchester City have reportedly opened talks with Real Madrid over a summer move for out of favour midfielder James Rodriguez.
Spanish outlet Diario Gol have reported that Manchester City are in talks with Real Madrid to sign Colombian international James Rodriguez in a €60 million deal when the transfer window reopens in June.
Things have gone from bad to worse for James Rodriguez at Real Madrid in 2016/17. After initially being reduced to a bit part role upon Zinedine Zidane’s arrival at the helm at the Santiago Bernabeu, he has now fallen completely out of favour with the Frenchman.
Rodriguez has managed to start just 8 games in addition to a further 7 appearances from the bench in La Liga all season, and despite the limited opportunities that he has received he has managed to come up with a return of 3 goals and 6 assists.
However, as minutes continue to remain hard to come by, it is looking increasingly likely that Rodriguez will end his misery at Real Madrid in the summer. When that happens there will be no shortage of clubs making a beeline to land him.
In fact, the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan have all been linked with Rodriguez in recent months. But, Liverpool and Bayern Munich are believed to be the front runners in the race to sign him, with the 25-year-old preferring a reunion with Carlo Ancelotti at the Allianz Arena.
However, the two clubs have a new rival in the transfer market for Rodriguez, with Manchester City keen on signing him come June. City manager Pep Guardiola has seen his side’s bid to win the Premier League title peter out horribly as they sit 4th in the table.
In addition to that, they didn’t do themselves any favours with their wastefulness in the 6-6 aggregate loss to AS Monaco in the Round of 16 in the Champions League last month. Thus, the City boss is eager to strengthen his side across various positions in order to sustain an improved challenge next season.
Attacking midfield is believed to be one such priority position, and Guardiola’s search for a viable target has led him to the doors of Real Madrid. City do have the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in attack, but David Silva’s powers are on the wane while Nolito and Jesus Navas have been unimpressive.
Rodriguez’s acquisition could, thus, provide a definitive upgrade to his attack in the summer and help his side mount a better challenge for the Premier League and Champions League. The money on offer is a big sticking point though.
City have only tabled an offer of €40 million to Real Madrid to secure Rodriguez’s services, but Los Blancos are unwilling to sell for anything less than €60 million. It now remains to be seen if City increase their offer to complete the move for the Colombian, or if they can manage to negotiate for a smaller amount.