Manchester United are very keen on signing a forward from Real Madrid, and Alvaro Morata seems more likely to come to United than any other Los Blancos player. However, United’s interest in Morata has come late on as we were originally after James Rodriguez.
The Colombian has been disgruntled with the lack of first-team opportunities under Zinedine Zidane, and he is almost certain to leave the club in this transfer window.
Rodriguez has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League with almost every top club including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester. Yet, none of the clubs have made an official offer and AC Milan have reportedly taken advantage of this situation by placing a £52.9 million offer for the player. Spanish outlet Don Balon reports that Madrid have accepted this offer, but it is understood that Rodriguez has turned down a move to the Italian club. The primary reason seems to be his interest in moving to Old Trafford rather than to San Siro.
The forward scored 11 goals and created 11 last season, but Jose Mourinho is thought to be in the market for a player who can lead the line on his own. Rodriguez may not be that player, as he depends more on his skills rather than physicality due to his small stature.
After recently taking over for another term as the Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez claimed that the Spanish outfit have not received any offers for their players – including Rodriguez. He said:
“We haven’t received offers for anyone this summer.Not Cristiano [Ronaldo], not [Alvaro] Morata — not James.”
United’s interest in the Colombian has slowly decreased over the last few weeks largely due to Madrid’s reluctance to sell him for much lower than £55 million. After having signed him from Monaco for around £74 million, the club are not ready to take a significant financial hit on the 25-year-old. At the same time, Perez is also aware that the player is clearly not in the plans of manager Zinedine Zidane after starting only 13 league matches last term.
There is every possibility of United’s interest in Rodriguez being rekindled, as the transfer for Alvaro Morata continues to drag.
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