According to The Guardian, Everton may now plan to give Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez a long-term deal to get around his wages.
It’s claimed that Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti is now confident of signing Rodriguez before the new season starts, having spoken to him last week.
Real want £25million for Rodriguez, with talks ongoing between themselves and Everton – and then the issue will be wages.
Rodriguez allegedly earns around £140,000-a-week at Real, and Everton may instead need to give him a long-term deal on less money to make up the cash.
Rodriguez isn’t in pre-season training with Real in order to secure a move away, with Zinedine Zidane seemingly making him surplus to requirements.
The 29-year-old worked with Ancelotti at Real and Bayern Munich, so another rreunion at Everton does make some sense.
Rodriguez is a big name who could bring class and creativity to the Everton side, though it’s unclear just where he fits into Ancelotti’s usual 4-4-2.
More of a number 10, Rodriguez doesn’t naturally fit out wide or as a central midfielder, so it will be interesting to see where Ancelotti deploys him – if Everton can seal the deal.
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