James Rodriguez| Is considering his options

giorno said:
All this stuff about formations is bs. It all comes down to wether he'd be given enough freedom of movement or not. If he does, he's going to be terrifying. United could sign him and play either in martial's or mhky/mata's place and he'd thrive. The whole team would be better thanks to him. He runs his socks off every game, too. Ancelotti played him in a midfield three with kroos and modric and he was great there too. Any position you put him in the front 3, he'll be fantastic.

If chelsea sign him, the 2016/17 premier league title race is done and dusted
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Agree. Too many supporters looking at this from a short term outlook and how he fits now, not where he fits long term. Memphis gone?, Mata, Zlatan, Fellini contracts end in 2018, Rooney possibly out, Martial sulking. Jose will move a lot of players out next summer and he will not hesitate to replace them like Moyes and LVG. James is an upgrade over every attacking player in the squad and if he's available Woodward should move in ASAP. You get the best players in and you get the manager to figure it out.

he solves the biggest glaring issue this squad has right now, set pieces. We get 10 corners a game, and we don't have a single person who can deliver them properly. Also, this squad can't be depending on Valencia attacking from the right side again next season. James can attack comfortably on both sides of the box. Imagine him and Mkh linking up with Zlatan on the end of those headers. You sign James in the winter, give him a half season and a training camp to get acclimated to the squad and Jose's system and he will flourish by next campaign.

Chelsea signs him its over, and I expect them to repeat next season again as champions and the best chance epl has to win champions league in years. Hazard, James, Costa, is a just several levels below Barca's 3. Give Conte a summer to reload that defense and the league is toast.
 
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worldinmotion66 said:
Why would anyone not be excited if we were to sign James Rodriguez, unless your name is Juan Mata or Wayne Rooney, that is? He's a bum's off seats kind of player, he's absolutely class if he's played in the right system. He excels on the counter attack, but he has the technical ability to play in a more controlled possession way too. He can also play from the right.

The only reason that I can see to not want him, is the fact that it would probably block any path for Griezmann to join us (if that's even a possibility). Any question marks about temperament or attitude shouldn't be considered. Trust in Mourinho - if he wants him, then great. If he doesn't, then we can move on to other targets or develop from within.
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I'd have taken him some time back. But with Mkhitarian and Pogba in the team there's really no point of signing James. He doesn't compliment them and if anything, nor fits into the system that makes those players work.

He's the sort of player who I reckon needs to be the star of your team, for whom others compensate a bit in order to bring out to the very best in him. If anything Pogba and Ibra are the two players we've built our system around. James is just an overload in that sense. We're better off going for a playmaking midfielder or a quality winger who has pace.

And question marks on temperament should obviously be considered. We should learn from the Di Maria fiasco.
 
duffer said:
Where would he fit in Chelsea's lineup? On the right instead of Pedro?
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Only place for him. Or we'd have to change formations. He's left footed as well and is an unbelievably good crosser of the ball so I'm not sure it makes sense to play him on the right.
 
With Draxler beating him to the lazy boy and remote in Paris I am not sure where he'll end up, Chelsea seem to be the ones mentioned the most but he doesn't seem a Conte player to me. With Sanchez and Ozil stalling on their contracts Arsenal might be a good option, but Real would have to lower the fee.
 
On paper it seems ideal to have two pacey players on the wings.
Football is not that simple anymore. I never understood why, but I just don't see 2 proper fast wingers playing as wide players. But that's how it is. Almost every player is better playing through the middle. On paper even Mkhi(who due to our desperation feels like Ryan Giggs MK II), did not seem like the ideal winger.
If there is one proper-pacey winger in the line up and there are two capable(in attack) full backs, having a creative player who is not really a winger playing on the wings is acceptable to me. If and only if this player adds certain qualities.
Mkhi is doing well for now, but our other wide players just don't have the quality in their final ball. Even Martial(and i love him) at his best is not the best user of the ball from the wings. We do need a lot more cutting edge from our wide players. Mata has quality in his left foot, but he is just too limited physically, that really cuts down on his options when he takes up good positions. I see Real Madrid goals and I see the quality of the ball provided by the likes of Bale and Carvajal and yearn for similar quality.
James might not be the ideal winger, but he has a great left foot, he can cross. He can put in some great crosses even when he has not actually gone past his defender. James is not the best signing in the world for us, but I feel he will add a lot of goals to our team. If we sign him, I will be happy. If we sign James, we will have to let Mata go :-(, but, I feel he will add a lot to our team.
 
Plus, Pogba has the drive and the legs to help cover for James when he drifts inside.
-------------ibra-----------------
james--------------------mkhi--
------pogba----------herrera----
------------carrick---------------

This looks good to me.
Mkhi and James swapping wings during a game, will be good for the both of them.
With Martial and Lingard as back up. (Could do with more quality in Back up)
Rooney needs to leave the club anyway, and a James signing will only make sense if Mata leaves.
 
Anduin said:
According to his agent Mendes he won't leave Real in January. Maybe he was an option for PSG, but they decided to sign Draxler instead?
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I haven't seen any french paper link him seriously with PSG, it has been Schurrle and Draxler for a long time since they were summer targets.
 
I don't think any of the teams in the premier league that could afford him, actually need him.
 
Anduin said:
According to his agent Mendes he won't leave Real in January. Maybe he was an option for PSG, but they decided to sign Draxler instead?
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We can't replace him in january. So we're not willing to sell him in january
 
New rumors about him today. Talks is about 50 million in the summer. The fee would i my opinion be okay if he was a perfect match for United, but I cant honestly see where he's going to play if he comes. As a right-winger instead of Mkhitaryan? As a left-winger where Martial and Rashford should be playing? As a number 10, pushing Pogba down the pitch like in the beginning of the season which doesn't suit him at all?

Doesn't make sense. I think United in that case instead should invest the money in a better CM instead of Herrera, a holding midfielder, and wing-backs. I would rather pay 70 million for a player who fits in United than 50 million for one who is on the same level but doesn't fit.
 
TheSwedeFromSweden said:
Doesn't make sense. I think United in that case instead should invest the money in a better CM instead of Herrera, a holding midfielder, and wing-backs. I would rather pay 70 million for a player who fits in United than 50 million for one who is on the same level but doesn't fit.
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Yeah, Mourinho seems to have an idea of how he wants the squad to look so hopefully we are beyond the scattergun approach of the Di Maria/Falcao window where we bought players without any clear idea of what we needed.
 
Think this is more of a Ed signing - Tap into South american Market.
 
TheSwedeFromSweden said:
New rumors about him today. Talks is about 50 million in the summer. The fee would i my opinion be okay if he was a perfect match for United, but I cant honestly see where he's going to play if he comes. As a right-winger instead of Mkhitaryan? As a left-winger where Martial and Rashford should be playing? As a number 10, pushing Pogba down the pitch like in the beginning of the season which doesn't suit him at all?

Doesn't make sense. I think United in that case instead should invest the money in a better CM instead of Herrera, a holding midfielder, and wing-backs. I would rather pay 70 million for a player who fits in United than 50 million for one who is on the same level but doesn't fit.
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Its just the Sun reporting it isn't it?
 
I'd rather have Mata.

Productive, loves the club and can be benched if we play a 3 men midfield.

I doubt United are in for him. If you look at this previous window, it's evident that we are now making signings that we need and make sense.This doesn't.
 
I think he's a fantastic player, very gifted and exciting to watch, if Mourinho wants him then I'm more than happy.
 
Mourinho is moving back to 4-3-3 after years of playing double pivot. Ibra, Pogba and the wingers all need that empty space in the middle to make the setup work.

I don't think you guys will be looking at James not for a second. Mourinho will find his new Carrick and one more well rounded b2b CM and go all out for them in the summer.
 
Pretty sure all the rumours from today use the Sun as their source.
 
gaucho_10 said:
Mourinho is moving back to 4-3-3 after years of playing double pivot. Ibra, Pogba and the wingers all need that empty space in the middle to make the setup work.

I don't think you guys will be looking at James not for a second. Mourinho will find his new Carrick and one more well rounded b2b CM and go all out for them in the summer.
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Yeah, Rodriguez is the last thing we need right now. Holding midfield is the only real priority as far as I can see.
 
Would be even more useless than the potential Griezmann signing.
 
Makes no sense for us at this point. The best fit at a big club seems like Dortmund as they have tons of pace up front and out wide but Kagawa hasn't quite become the star he looked likely to be his last year at Dortmund, but they don't really spend that kind of money. If they could sell Schurrle for 20-25M and get James for 50, they'd be a CB away from maybe challenging Bayern again:

---Aubameyang-------
Reus-James-Dembele
---Weigl-Castro---------
Guerrero------Pisczek
----CB---Sokratis-----
------Burki------------

with Ramos, Kagawa, Mor, Pulisic, Rode, Ginter, Bartra and others around as depth and you've got a proper team.

Sevilla would work too, if they commit to the 3-3-3-1 and other formations they play at times that allow a proper playmaker. They signed Ganso so they see a role for one in the squad. Money would be an issue, but they seem likely to make the CL and maybe they'll get a big fee for N'Zonzi or someone else to justify it.

Juventus I guess too. He could play on the left in the 4-3-3 or 3-4-2-1 and as the 10 in a 4-2-3-1, as Pjanic has apparently disappointed and Khedira might need to drop deeper as he ages. Or he could be Totti's replacement at Roma.

None of the Prem teams make sense, really.
 
I personally think that James could offer the same qualities as Griezmann personally, I'd imagine at half the price. I don't particularly want either player, quite simply because we don't need either player - but I think James, and even more so, Reus, are similar players who could go for less.
 
The press seem determined to get a "James Rodriguez rejects Man United" style headline just because the player said he's staying.

I don't know if he really said no to Mourinho but that's the way the press are reporting it.
 
K2K said:
I'd rather have Mata.

Productive, loves the club and can be benched if we play a 3 men midfield.

I doubt United are in for him. If you look at this previous window, it's evident that we are now making signings that we need and make sense.This doesn't.
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Agreed
 
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