Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez is close to making a switch to French champions Paris Saint-Germain – according to reports in France.
Rodriguez arrived at Madrid following his star-studded showings for Colombia in the 2014 World Cup, but he has struggled to recreate that level of performance at the Santiago Bernabéu. The hype of his big-money move has reduced significantly within two years, with the 24-year-old making just 17 starts in La Liga last season.
Rodriguez helped his country to a third-placed finish in the Copa America earlier this summer and those displays for Colombia have peaked the interest of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, with the three Premier League sides reportedly interested in taking the former Monaco forward to England.
However, Ligue 1 holders PSG’s talks about a move that would see Rodriguez return to French football are at a “very advanced stage” according to Yahoo Sport France, who list their source as being close to club president Jorge Mendes.
Their report suggests that the finer points of the deal are yet to be negotiated, but talks are said to be on-going and Rodriguez is said to be “interested in the PSG project.”
New PSG manager Unai Emery only arrived at the Parc des Princes last week, but he’s not wasted any time in making his mark on the squad he inherited from former boss Laurent Blanc. Should the Colombian international make the switch from Madrid to Paris, he would be Emery’s fourth signing – after the club have already agreed deals for Hatem Ben Arfa, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Thomas Meunier.
Despite a host of new arrivals at the French champions, Rodriguez would be the marquee signing that the club have needed since the departure of talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker has opted against signing a new contract at the club and has joined former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho at Manchester United instead.
