Fansided

5 possible landing spots for James Rodriguez this summer

By Kevin Parvizi

NUREMBERG, GERMANY - APRIL 28: James Rodriguez of Bayern Munich looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Max-Morlock-Stadion on April 28, 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images)
NUREMBERG, GERMANY - APRIL 28: James Rodriguez of Bayern Munich looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Max-Morlock-Stadion on April 28, 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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ALLIANZ STADIUM, TURIN, PIEDMONT/TURIN, ITALY – 2018/10/02: Paulo Dybala (Juventus) and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) celebrates during the UEFA Champions League group stage match between Juventus and Young Boys at the Allianz Stadium Stadium, Juventus won 3-0 in Turin, Italy on 2 October 2018. (Photo by Alberto Gandolfo/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
ALLIANZ STADIUM, TURIN, PIEDMONT/TURIN, ITALY – 2018/10/02: Paulo Dybala (Juventus) and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) celebrates during the UEFA Champions League group stage match between Juventus and Young Boys at the Allianz Stadium Stadium, Juventus won 3-0 in Turin, Italy on 2 October 2018. (Photo by Alberto Gandolfo/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

Juventus

Behind 30 combined goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic with elite fullback play behind them, Juventus won Serie A handily. Juventus had 11 points on second-place Napoli by the end of the 2018-19 campaign, but their domestic success probably wasn’t satisfying.

When they signed Ronaldo, they made it their goal to win the Champions League. Thanks to Ajax’s brilliance, that goal went unfulfilled in Ronaldo’s first season.

James Rodriguez played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, and perhaps he could set up the forward in the Serie A. While the Paulo Dybala transfer rumors likely won’t come to fruition, they do make Juventus’s apparent interest in James even easier to understand.

Last season, Ronaldo let Juventus with eight assists while also leading the team with 21 goals. Juventus need someone else who can create chances, and James is a player capable of creating double-digit assists in a domestic campaign.

Furthermore, Ronaldo only placed third in Serie A in goals, and he’s capable of grabbing more with a better passer in the final third.

As one of the most technically gifted attacking midfielders in the world, James can provide that kind of quality to Juventus.

James has three career seasons with more than 10 assists in league play, including 11 for Bayern in the 2017-18 campaign when he last featured as a regular under favored manager Carlo Ancelotti.

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