Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to see James Rodriguez sign for Napoli this summer after the Colombian returned from Bayern Munich’s loan spell.
He is still tied to Real Madrid till the summer of 2021 but is not in Zinedine Zidane’s long-term plans. It was the Frenchman who first sent James out on loan to Bayern after failing to find a place for him in the Champions League winning Galactico setup.
The Bundesliga giant opted to sacrifice their buy-back clause. Rodriguez would ideally like to move out of the Bernabeu now and Napoli is tipped to be his most likely destination.
Ancelotti made a public plea to try and recruit the 27-year-old. He told reporters, “I know him very well, he can play in all the midfield positions. I used him as a left winger, as a number 10 and or even on the right.
“His position on the pitch isn’t a problem. He’s adaptable, he can play in many positions. As for the number 10 shirt, the important thing is that he puts on the Azzurri jersey. His number isn’t important. However, he needs time and patience.”
It was Ancelotti who brought Rodriguez to the Spanish capital and it was also him who managed him at Bayern over a year ago. He would like to reunite with the Colombian in the Serie A, given that he is currently available.
Napoli are pushing for an initial loan move but Real want to seal a €42m sale. A large influx of players has the La Liga giants plotting a huge garage sale this summer where they get to move out all their fringe players on high salaries.
James Rodriguez are being monitored by Atletico Madrid as well.
