According to The Times, Real Madrid have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Paul Pogba. The European giants proposed a £27.4 million-plus James Rodriguez offer to sign the Frenchman. But, that offer has been rejected by Manchester United as it falls well short of their whopping £150 million valuation for the midfielder. But, while they could ask Madrid to increase the cash amount, is Rodriguez a viable option for the Red Devils?
An experienced attacker
Once regarded as one of the world’s best talents, Rodriguez is still a quality attacker, who now has a vast experience of top-flight European football. He made only 38 competitive appearances for AS Monaco prior to his big-money move to Real Madrid.
But in Spain, he featured in 111 matches for Los Merengues in all competitions. He clinched the Champions League twice with Real Madrid. And during his two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich, the Colombian international appeared in 67 matches. His contributions in the final third was crucial as the Bavarians lifted the Bundesliga title during the 2017/18 campaign.
Besides, Rodriguez initially rose to prominence at FC Porto. He was involved in 108 matches for the Portuguese giants, which is enough to indicate the fact that the Colombian is a well-travelled footballer and is unlikely to find any difficulties in settling into the Premier League.
He can solve United’s attacking problems
Manchester United have lacked the presence of a creative force in attack in recent years. Alexis Sanchez was brought in from Arsenal at the start of last year to plug that gap. But, the Chilean has failed miserably at Old Trafford. Rodriguez, in that regard, could be an ideal candidate to solve United’s issues in the creative department.
The 28-year-old can provide the spark going forward. His ability to thread passes in behind the backline and combine with teammates in the final third could be invaluable for the Red Devils. Besides, the ex-Monaco star is a proven goalscorer and is also quite proficient in set-pieces.
That means Rodriguez could potentially turn out to be the solution to Manchester United’s attacking problems in the upcoming season.
A better fit than Pogba?
One can be forgiven to think that James is better fitted to Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s philosophy than Pogba. Although the Colombian cannot feature in central midfield, he can easily slot into the number ten role in United’s 4-1-3-2 setup.
The Real Madrid star is an excellent ball-carrier. And if we consider his immense technical skill, he could surely thrive alongside the likes of Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Co. in the United attack. Therefore, it might not be a bad idea for Man United to convince Los Blancos to increase the amount of their player plus cash deal and offload Pogba. But with time running out, they need to move swiftly.
