In what has been one of the most heavily rumored transfers of the summer, James Rodriguez is now officially an Evertonian.
The Merseyside club confirmed the news on Monday evening, announcing the addition of their newest star for about £20 million. Here is what the player had to say about his move to England:
The move sees the Colombian international link up with manager Carlo Ancelotti for the third time in his career. The other two being at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
After being starved for minutes under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, the attacking midfielder is now set to be the star at Goodison Park. The move to England could be his last shot at reviving his career in one of the top five leagues in the world. This is because the Colombian is already at the peak of his playing years, at 29.
Ancelotti has managed to get the best out of Rodriguez in both of his previous seasons managing the player and he seems set on another long term project around the 29-year-old. At Real Madrid, James scored and assisted 13 in 29 games under the Italian tactician.
Everton have signed the playmaker on a two-year deal, with an option for a third. Rodriguez will wear the number 19 shirt for the 2020-21 season, as confirmed by the club themselves on their official Twitter page.
With the signing of former Napoli midfielder Allan, and now James Rodriguez, Everton’s squad look well set for Ancelotti’s first full season at Goodison.
With the level of competition all around, it is hard to predict the outcome of this season for Everton but they do look like a squad which is capable of pushing for Europe. With the likes of James Rodriguez linking up with Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin in the attack, we might finally see the Toffees in the top six after quite a break.
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