Wolverhampton Wanderers are targetting a shock signing in the name of James Rodriguez in the summer, according to reports.
Spanish outlet El Desmarque have stated that the 28-year-old has attracted the interest of the Premier League, with Wolves allegedly making contact with their old friend in Jorge Mendes, hoping that he can be the middleman in striking a deal between the two clubs.
The Colombian has managed to get just seven La Liga appearances under his belt this season, scoring just one goal and assisting another.
The attacking midfielder has been on the end of a couple of injuries, as per the Daily Express, but ultimately he is down the pecking order for Zinedine Zidane and has been since he returned from his loan spell at Bayern Munich.
The Express also claims that the attacking midfielder is worried that his lack of playing time is going to impact the chances of being selected for Colombia during this summer’s Copa America, which will be co-hosted by his country.
Should we change our tactics for James Rodriguez?
Yes, he's top quality
No, why change what we're doing
It is stated that Mendes is wanted to try and lower Real’s asking price of £70m.
That fee is £1m less than what Los Blancos paid for him in 2014 following his Golden Boot win at the Brazil World Cup, where he joined from Monaco.
Since joining, he has gone on to make 124 appearances in all competitions, scoring 37 goals and 42 assists. So while his return has been more than encouraging, his lack of game time hasn’t.
After the start of next season, he will have just one more year remaining on his contract and will be 29: that means Wolves have the mandate to ask for a much lower fee, even with transfer fees rocketing since then.
For Wolves, they don’t really have a player in his position as it stands; a creative, attacking midfielder who likes to play behind a striker.
If he does join, that could mean a change in tactics or at least another option for the team.
It may not the best fit on the face of things, as it is hard to see where he would play Nuno’s 3-4-3, but adding a player of that quality is only going to be a boost for his team.
