Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton have yet to make an approach for Real Madrid benchwarmer Isco and the Spain international has no plans to leave the La Liga champions in January either, as reported by Marca.
Three years ago, Zinedine Zidane’s B-team carried a team full of Galacticos to their first Spanish top flight title since 2012.
At the time, Isco was challenging Cristiano Ronaldo for the title of Los Blancos’ beau. The bandy-legged playmaker was arguably the most influential attacking midfielder in world football at the time, wreaking havoc from his number 10 role.
Flash forward to the modern day, however, and Isco appears a fading shadow of his 2017 peak.
Madrid’s bench was once their biggest strength. Now it’s their Achilles heel, with Isco and co enduring a humiliating 4-1 defeat to crisis-hit Valencia on Sunday.
That was just Isco’s 18th start in Real’s last 46 La Liga games. But, according to Marca, a lack of game time and a drastic loss of form isn’t enough to convince the Malaga man to seek a fresh start away from the Santiago Bernabau.
Everton have been linked with a January move for a supremely gifted footballer Ancelotti once compared to Milan legend Clarence Seedorf (ESPN).
Marca, however, claim the Toffees have yet to be in touch with James Rodriguez’s former teammate and, for what it’s worth, Isco has no plans to leave the 13-time European champions any time soon.
As recently as 2017, Real’s squad was deeper than the Marianas Trench. Now they would struggle to fill a bathtub with genuine match-changing options.
So don’t expect Zidane to let a player with Isco’s experience walk out the door midway through a gruelling campaign.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
