In shocking reports emerging in Spain, English Premier League side Liverpool have turned down the offer to sign Real Madrid talisman James Rodriguez. The Colombian international was reportedly offered to the Reds, among many other European clubs, and Jurgen Klopp was one of the few to show no interest in the player.
It would be hard to believe that Rodriguez’s quality has degraded over the past few seasons because the 25-year-old playmaker could be anything but a bad footballer; which leaves us with only one possibility- his mammoth price tag. Los Blancos have slapped an asking price of £66 million on the player, which has restricted many sides interested in him.
Though Rodriguez’s injury history last season could be highlighted, he was out for fewer days if we take Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge into consideration whom Klopp has decided to stick with this season. And Rodriguez’s quality is clearly reflected by his contribution last season of 11 goals and 13 assists despite recurring muscular and foot injuries forced him to miss 10 games throughout the season.
Of course, having Rodriguez would seem more like a luxury for Liverpool, but unlike their right flank where Klopp now has Mohamed Salah apart from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, the left flank looks quite depleted. Despite having the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, Klopp had found himself in huge injury crisis the last term.
The problem has been mainly with Liverpool’s style of play. The all-attack philosophy could often be detrimental and overbearing for players in the attacking third, who rely way too much on their speed to execute the plan. Klopp’s choice of players like Mane, Lallana, Salah- all reflects their sole USP up front, agility.
Hence, one cannot brand Liverpool as unlucky with injuries for their tactics leave a wide window for such occurrences. And Klopp could really regret this opportunity of turning down the offer of Rodriguez for more than anything. Having a number 10 like him could give a huge advantage to any side in the world.
Since joining Real back in 2014, James Rodriguez has gone on to miss 38 games over three seasons, but he has still managed to score 36 goals and manage a whopping 41 assists over 100 games. Very much unlike Coutinho, whose form took a huge slump when he returned from his injury last season.
Liverpool have other positions to bolster which needs immediate reinforcements and while Rodriguez would have been an upgrade, he was certainly a luxury which Liverpool need not have splashed on right now.
And one could well say Liverpool turning down the offer ended pretty well for the player, who has now joined the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on a 2-year loan deal with an option to buy permanently at the end. It seems an ideal move and fits in better than Rodriguez at Liverpool.
