Chelsea
Attacker Could Join Man Utd After Chelsea Refuse To Meet £60m Asking Price
A world class attacker could end up joining Manchester United after Chelsea refused to pay his £60m asking price. Find out details here
Managers are now making moves to try and strengthen their squads during the January transfer window or next summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, more on the future of James Rodriguez…
James Rodriguez could end up joining Manchester United after Chelsea refused to pay Real Madrid’s £60m asking price for the unsettled attacker, according to the Sun.
Rodriguez’s future at the Bernabeu is in serious doubt after falling out-of-favour under Zinedine Zidane this season with the Colombian international featuring in just eight La Liga games so far.
The Mirror reported earlier this week that Chelsea were planning a sensational swoop for the 25-year-old next month with Rodriguez understood to be open to the move after becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of game-time at Madrid.
Speculation over a potential switch to the Premier League intensified after Rodriguez was spotted at the British Embassy in Bogota with the press suggesting he was there applying for a visa.
With Oscar set for a big-money move to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG during the winter transfer window, Chelsea need to find a replacement and the newspaper suggested that Antonio Conte felt Rodriguez would be the ideal man for the job.
The former Monaco playmaker would give Conte another vital option in midfield and attack and would allow the Blues boss to give the likes of Eden Hazard plenty of rest to keep him fresh during the second half of the season.
However, it looks as though Chelsea’s hopes of landing Rodriguez have hit a major stumbling block as the Sun claim that the West Londoners have now pulled out of the race for his signature after baulking at Madrid’s £60m asking price.
Chelsea’s club transfer record still stands at the £50m they paid for Fernando Torres back in January 2011 and the Sun believe that Roman Abramovich isn’t willing to break that figure to land Rodriguez.
However, the Colombian attacker could yet end up in England as the Sun claim that Manchester United may step up their interest in Rodriguez if a deal can be done during the January window.
They say that Jose Mourinho is desperate to bring in a world class No.10 and while his priority is to land Antoine Griezmann in the summer, United could turn their attention to the more attainable Rodriguez next month.
READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Man Utd transfer news
United currently sit sixth in the table, four points off the top four, and it would be a disaster for them to miss out on Champions League football again next season so Mourinho may jump at the chance of signing Rodriguez as he could make all the difference during the second half of the campaign.
The Red Devils flexed their financial muscle last summer and they should have no problem meeting Madrid’s reported £60m asking price so a deal could be on the cards if United do end up deciding to pursue the former Porto attacker next month.
