Jamie O’Hara praised Everton summer signing James Rodriguez on talkSPORT (9:41am, October 13, 2020), and used the example of Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale to make his point.
Everton signed James – who can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger – from Spanish and European giants Real Madrid in the summer transfer window.
The 29-year-old Colombia international struggled to make an impact at Madrid last season following a two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich.
Bale joined Spurs on loan from Madrid in the summer transfer window. The Wales international winger also failed to make a massive impact at the Santiago Bernabeu last season with injury problems and did not play regularly when he was fit and available.
Former Tottenham midfielder O’Hara, who now works as a pundit for talkSPORT, praised James.
O’Hara used Bale to make his point that just because James had a bad time at Madrid does not mean that he is not a good player.
The former Spurs midfielder said about James on talkSPORT (9:41am, October 13, 2020): “Everyone wrote him off, didn’t they? It didn’t happen for him at Real Madrid.
“He had his injuries, and he was out of the team. You can’t take away the fact that the quality was always there, and class is permanent.
“At the end of the day, you can have a bad spell. Look at Gareth Bale at Real Madrid. He won Champions Leagues and still got treated terribly. That signing is a fantastic signing.”
James Rodriguez Stats
According to WhoScored, James played eight games in La Liga and 81 minutes in the Champions League for Madrid last season.
So far this campaign, the Colombian has scored three goals and provided two assists in four Premier League appearances for Everton, according to WhoScored.
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