Manchester United received a deserving breather last night as they comfortably emerged victorious against Feyenoord in the Europa League with a 4-0 victory. In the midst of all this, Jose Mourinho has already started work on identifying future targets to strengthen his squad for all the competitions and Real Madrid's James Rodriguez is one player he is looking forward to sign.
James has always been a target for United since his FC Porto days and now with reports emerging of the Colombian's relationship with manager Zinedine Zidane hitting rock bottom, United have received a much-needed boost.
According to Spanish publication Marca, Rodriguez and Zidane have seen their working relationship go from bad to worse and it is pretty clear that the Frenchman does not want Rodriguez in his first team squad. The Colombian has made just five starts this season with eleven appearances overall but Rodriguez is unsure about his role at the club and wants to have regular game time to help his country in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Zinedine Zidane is said to be unimpressed with Rodriguez's efforts in training with the 25-year-old not getting a look in against Sporting Lisbon. He has not started in Real's last five games and has struggled for game-time even with injuries to the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
With an injury to Gareth Bale, a ray of hope has surfaced for Rodriguez to get some matches under his belt so that he can show his worth to potential suitors, which include the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and AC Milan.
Jose Mourinho is also eyeing a defensive overhaul next summer with a number of players set to be offloaded from the current United squad. Along with James Rodriguez, United are also trying their luck to lure the likes of David Alaba and Alexander Dragovic.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have already identified their target in Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey to replace the Colombian when he finally leaves the Bernabeu after a disappointing stint, which started with a £60 million move from Monaco.
Real Madrid are facing a two transfer window ban till 2018 but are confident of overturning that ban. They are in the process of appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and are confident of winning their appeal as the club has given Zidane the go ahead to scout for new targets.
With Isco and James Rodriguez expected to be offloaded next summer, a move for the Welshman which is rumoured to be around £25 million makes sense.
