Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez is on his way to Everton where he will link up with Carlo Ancelotti who managed him at both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Rodriguez was signed from Monaco in 2014 after the World Cup which was hosted by Brazil. He won the top scorer award as his side reached the quarterfinal before they were dumped out by Brazil. His strike against Fernando Muslera in the Round of 16 was also voted as the best goal of the year which won him the Puskas award.
However, his time at the Santiago Bernabeu hasn’t gone according to plan. More often than not, he finds himself on the fringes of what is constantly a star-studded Real Madrid squad. In a bid to rediscover his golden touch, a loan move to Bayern occurred in 2017 but he didn’t quite hit his Monaco heights.
The deal comes as no surprise given how highly Ancelotti has spoken about Rodriguez. “James Rodriguez? I like him a lot as a player. When I left Madrid, James Rodriguez followed me to Munich. He came to play. But he(James Rodriguez) followed me as a rumour to Napoli and now he is following me here to Everton as a rumour.”
Rodriguez may not be the only midfield addition headed to Merseyside. Watford’s Abdullahi Doucore could also be on his way. The Frenchman was one of Watford’s better performers in an otherwise woeful campaign where they were relegated. An escape route back to the Premier League for him has now been provided and the move is expected to go through once both teams reach an agreement.
Carlo Ancelotti obviously loves working with ex-players and his intention to bring Napoli’s Allan has shown that again. The combative Brazilian midfielder would provide good shielding for the back four as well as injection of energy into the middle of the park coupled with an adept ability to win back the ball. This was a job Jean-Phillipe Gbamin was signed for but constant injuries have prevented him from featuring regularly.
