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Arsenal plotting move for £50m La Liga attacker

By mac14 on June 11, 2017

According to the Mirror, Arsenal are plotting a summer swoop for out-of-favour Real Madrid attacker James Rodriguez but will face stiff competition from other Premier League rivals.

Arsene Wenger is getting down to business in the market after signing a two year contract extension and with the future’s of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil still in doubt, the boss is eyeing attacking reinforcements.

The Mirror are citing a report coming from Marca that claims Arsenal are now plotting a bid for Rodriguez after Wenger put the Madrid attacker on the summer hit-list.

The Colombian international joined Madrid after starring at the 2014 World Cup but he’s struggled to establish himself in the starting eleven over the past few years.

Rodriguez started just 13 league games last season and was axed from the entire squad for Madrid’s Champions League final against Juventus, which was a sure sign he would be leaving the club this summer.

It seems Wenger is now eyeing a move for the South American but we will have some competition as the Mirror claim that Liverpool and Man Utd are keen while Chelsea have also been linked today.

So we have a real fight on our hands against three clubs able to offer Champions League football and the newspaper suggests that Madrid want around £50m for Rodriguez’s signature.

We certainly have that sort of money available to spend but it remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old can be persuaded to come to the Emirates and play in the Europa League next season.

READ: Arsenal close-in on £10m new signing

I’m a big fan of Rodriguez and we all saw what he was capable of at the last World Cup. Despite his bit-part role at Madrid, he’s still managed 36 goals and 41 assists in his 111 appearances so his stats have been excellent.

It’s difficult to compare him to either Sanchez or Ozil as they are all different types of players but I do think any move for Rodriguez is likely mean Wenger sees him as a potential replacement for one of our star duo.

Obviously I want Alexis and Ozil to stay but at least it looks like we’re aiming for some top quality replacements if they are to leave this summer.