Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Alexandre Lacazette? Believe it or not, Arsenal have added another attacking player to their shopping list.
The Gunners have reportedly had an offer for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez turned down after failing to meet the La Liga champions valuation.
On Tuesday evening, Jose Luis Sanchez, who’s regarded as ‘the Spanish David Ornstein’ when it comes to news involving Madrid, confirmed the approach from Arsene Wenger.
Very reliable @JLSanchez78 says we have bid for James Rodriguez but it just below Madrid’s valuation.
pic.twitter.com/9C49nVmauu— Arsènic (@Lexus7Sanchez) June 6, 2017
It’s believed James is realistically worth in the region of £45million but in this market it wouldn’t be surprising if Madrid held out for a more significant chunk of cash.
It’s not the first time James has been linked with a move to North London, with his situation over in Spain having never been completely concrete in the team.
The 25-year-old has a contract until 2020 which could increase his transfer fee by quite a bit, but the real question comes to where he’ll fit in at Arsenal.
Having featured in all areas of Madrid’s attack, you can often get the best out of him when he’s played through the centre, an area Mesut Ozil has locked down.
But with Wenger’s recent change in formation, James could easily adapt his playing style to feature in any one of the front three roles.
Of course, this is another huge transfer and if Arsenal are to go ahead it tells us one of two things; either Ozil or Alexis is off or we’ve given up on the chance of getting Kylian Mbappe.
Personally, I don’t want to see James in a red and white jersey because he just hasn’t taken his chance at Madrid when given the chance. Playing to that price tag won’t help him with changing his style to fit life in England either.
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