Rodriguez may be sold, hints new Everton boss Benitez

 

Rafa Benitez has strongly hinted Everton want to sell James Rodriguez just 12 months after his arrival.

 

The former Liverpool manager wants backing by new club Everton this summer but is aware he may have to sell before he can buy.

 

Everton have been one of the Premier League's biggest spenders in recent years and quite a few of those transfers have not worked out.

 

The Toffees paid Arsenal £34m for Alex Iwobi in 2019, £25m for Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace in 2016 and another £24m for Ajax's Davy Klaassen in 2017.

 

"Everybody knows that this club has spent a lot of money in the last few years so that means that Financial Fair Play is a factor," The Daily Mail quote Benitez as saying.

 

"If you have players with big salaries that normally aren't playing then you want to find a solution and this solution will mean you have money to spend on new players.

 

"So we will try to maximise what we have and manage the best way possible to be sure we can bring players that will make us strong."

 

While Everton actually snapped up James Rodriguez from Real Madrid without paying a transfer fee, naturally the Colombia international is on huge wages.

 

 

Rodriguez's future at Everton was already up in the air prior to Benitez's arrival after Carlo Ancelotti backed his bags and returned to Madrid at the start of June.

 

Ancelotti was the sole reason Rodriguez made the move to Everton and now Benitez is hopeful Everton can offload him. 

 

After a bright start to last season, injuries really started to prevent Rodriguez from a string of games and he finished the campaign with only 21 league starts.

 

Rodriguez returned 10 direct goal contributions but recorded his lowest ever figure for key passes per game in a single campaign in his career.