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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
SAN PAOLO STADIUM, NAPOLI, CAMPANIA, ITALY – 2019/05/05: Napoli’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti looks on during the Italian Serie A football match SSC Napoli vs Cagliari Calcio at the San Paolo Stadium. (Photo by Carlo Hermann/KONTROLAB /LightRocket via Getty Images)
SAN PAOLO STADIUM, NAPOLI, CAMPANIA, ITALY – 2019/05/05: Napoli’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti looks on during the Italian Serie A football match SSC Napoli vs Cagliari Calcio at the San Paolo Stadium. (Photo by Carlo Hermann/KONTROLAB /LightRocket via Getty Images) /

Napoli

Out of all the clubs linked to James Rodriguez this summer, Napoli are by far the smallest. That said, they did come in second place in Serie A and impressed in a nightmare Champions League group, taking Liverpool and PSG to their absolute limits.

In Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, Jose Callejon, and Arkadiusz Milik, Napoli have some of the world’s most exciting attackers; they also have one of football’s top-five centerbacks in Kalidou Koulibaly.

Something special could be brewing in Napoli, especially if they are able to convince Real Madrid to sell them James. It appears Carlo Ancelotti and James are on the same page when it comes to getting a deal done, as James flourished under Ancelotti’s leadership at both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

In 2017-18, he was a key player for Bayern before Niko Kovac bumped him to the bench in 2018-19.

Napoli don’t necessarily need James and would be the definition of a darkhorse landing spot for the big-name transfer, but fans shouldn’t be surprised if Serie A’s second-best side are able to successfully complete this deal.

The bond James and Ancelotti have can’t be discounted, and it seems like the only thing standing in the way of this deal happening is a potentially stronger bid from a club with more financial resources.

Home/La Liga