Why James Rodriguez to Wolves would be an excellent move
According to claims from Spanish outlet El Desmarque, as cited by The Sun, Wolves have been linked with a swoop for Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez, who is also on the radar of several other clubs.
As well as Wolves, Premier League rivals Man United and Spurs are also in the race to sign the 28-year-old, who currently finds himself restricted to a bit-part role under Zinedine Zidane following his return to the Bernabeu. (El Desmarque h/t Sun)
Rodriguez, who signed for Real Madrid for a staggering £71million, following his heroics for Colombia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, returned to Los Blancos earlier this summer after spending the last two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich.
The highly-rated creative ace starred with an impressive tally of 7 goals and 11 assists for Bayern in the 2017-18 Bundesliga season but notched up mediocre returns of 7 goals and 3 assists in the previous campaign.
The 28-year-old’s return to the Bernabeu has been anything but spectacular. Rodriguez currently finds himself down the pecking order after scoring and assisting one apiece in 9 appearances across all competitions and his contract is set to expire in 2020.
Now, Wolves have established themselves as a force to reckon with in the Premier League under the ownership of the cash-rich Fosun Group.
The Black Country outfit has forked out millions of pounds to complete deals for Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, Jonny Otto Castro, Ruben Neves, Helder Costa, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio, Leander Dendoncker and Ivan Cavaleiro over the past couple of years.
To that end, the club’s links with James Rodriguez, who is also a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes, certainly makes a lot of sense.
The Midlands giants have struck gold in the transfer market on several occasions under the stewardship of the charismatic Nuno Santo and it is a no-brainer that a creative midfielder of his calibre would go a long way towards solving their problems in the final third.
Mediocre returns of just 16 goals in 12 games in the Premier League this season clearly epitomise the need to bring in a top-quality creative outlet.
Verdict
Indeed, his presence in a No.10 role behind Jimenez and Jota up top and in front of a central midfield pairing of Neves and Moutinho would transform Wolves into a fearsome force.
However, things are not as straightforward as they look, with Spanish outlet El Desmarque (h/t Sun) claiming that a move for Rodriguez would only be possible if Wolves include Ruben Neves as a part of the deal.
Now, Neves has been at the centre of a lot of good things that Wolves have achieved over the last two years. Plus, he recently put pen to paper on a new five-year deal.
Suffice to say, Neves is an indispensable component of Wolves’ midfield cavalry. And the Black Country outfit should not make the mistake of doing any business with the 22-year-old.
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However, if they are really interested in acquiring Rodriguez, it would be better if they try to iron out a cash transfer for the Colombian.
