Everton confirm James Rodriguez arrived for free/Toffees ‘close’ to deal for Bayern Munich’s Josh Zirkzee
Last Updated: January 16, 2021 12:17 pm
James swoop
The first surrounds one of those to have made the move to Goodison Park during the summer.
Everton of course embarked on an impressive recruitment drive ahead of Carlo Ancelotti’s first full season in charge of the club, bringing in the likes of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucouré and Ben Godfrey.
Without doubt the most high-profile individual to have made his way to the blue half of Merseyside, however, was James Rodriguez.
Colombian international Rodriguez, once viewed as one of the most promising young talents in world football, was fresh off the back of another difficult campaign with Real Madrid, after returning to the Bernabeu from German champions Bayern Munich.
MALLORCA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 19: James Rodriguez of Real Madrid CF looks on during the Liga match between RCD Mallorca and Real Madrid CF at Iberostar Estadi on October 19, 2019 in Mallorca, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
In turn, Ancelotti opted to sanction a reunion with his former midfield star, having overseen some of the finest form of James’ career during their time spent together in Madrid.
At the time of his Goodison switch being made official, meanwhile, it was widely reported that Everton had forked over a sum in the region of £22 million to land the 29-year-old.
Such suggestions, however, have since been definitively shut down, by Toffees director of football Marcel Brands.
Speaking during a virtual general meeting, Brands opened up on Rodriguez’s move to the club, and confirmed that the South American was essentially gifted to Everton by Real Madrid:
Everton have confirmed they didn’t pay anything to sign James Rodriguez from Real Madrid over the summer 🤝 pic.twitter.com/5SQ40VDVqV
— Goal (@goal) January 15, 2021
Zirkzee imminent?
The 2nd update surrounding the Blues’ business on the transfer front, meanwhile, surrounds a potential January arrival.
As per a report on the part of talkSPORT, which has since gained widespread attention, Everton are on the verge of closing a loan deal for Bayern Munich starlet Joshua Zirkzee.
The Dutch youth international made the move to Bavaria in 2017, and has since managed 4 goal in 12 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern’s senior side.
At just 19, and with Robert Lewandowski to compete with for regular game-time, though, a loan departure from the Allianz Arena this month had emerged as an increasingly likely possibility of late.
And, according to talkSPORT, it is Everton who look set to take imminent advantage of the situation.
Zirkzee is expected to link up with Carlo Ancelotti’s squad on loan, ‘with a view’ to a permanent transfer in the summer:
BREAKING: Everton close to loan deal for Bayern Munich’s Josh Zirkzee.
The 19-year-old Dutch striker joins with a view to a permanent deal.
– talkSPORT understand
📻 Listen → https://t.co/VJgUHnqdM1
📲 The app → https://t.co/B20m65uOHq pic.twitter.com/7peOxTUo7i— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 15, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
Everton betting odds, next game:
Everton vs Southampton odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Everton vs Southampton Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Everton | 10/3 | 13/5 |
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 25 | 21 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 25 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 25 | 11 | 40 |
| 7 | Everton FC | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa FC | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 24 | 10 | 36 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 25 | 0 | 35 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 25 | 5 | 34 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 25 | -6 | 33 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 25 | -14 | 32 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 25 | -12 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 25 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 25 | -6 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 25 | -17 | 25 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 25 | -11 | 22 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 | -36 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 25 | -26 | 11 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
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| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 7 |
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| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
