With James Rodriguez flourishing under Carlo Ancelotti at Everton, it was almost inevitable that more struggling players would be linked with a move to Goodison Park.
The Colombian midfielder has been a prime example that moving to a smaller club can work wonders and there will be plenty thinking about it for themselves.
The last week or so has seen that happening, with Real Madrid’s Isco linked with making a move come January.
The Spaniard is way, way out of favour at Real Madrid these days and, like Rodriguez, it’s been suggested that a move to Goodison could revive his failing career.
So far there’s been nothing but rumours about the potential move but El Confidencial cover the situation today and provide some background detail on what’s happening and why Ancelotti may be the perfect man to get the best out of the midfielder once again.
They explain that Isco is in a ‘delicate moment’ at Real Madrid because Zidane can’t find the ‘opportune moment’ to bet on him.
So far he’s not played a single minute in the Champions League and only has only started twice in the league, a bad situation for a player of his talents.
It’s clear that ‘something is wrong’ with the player, despite Zidane’s best efforts to downplay things but the fact of the matter is, in the last five games he’s only managed half an hour of football, and something is going on.
The ‘favouritism’ that Isco has enjoyed with other managers, simply isn’t there for whatever reason and working out who is to blame is a difficult task.
One of those who did love him was Everton boss Ancelotti, who, during his first 100 matches in charge of Real Madrid played him no fewer than 89 times. Indeed, he was his most used player during that period.
And he benefitted too, with the Spaniard establishing himself ‘among the favourites’ as a result of his ‘quality, imagination and talent’.
The Italian coach wasn’t just an admirer, though, he also offered him advice. He told Isco while he has ‘incredible quality’ he had to ‘reinvent himself’ and ‘learn the trade of a midfielder’ if he was to remain a key player for different managers.
Indeed, his specific advice was to turn himself from a playmaker into an ‘organiser position’, like Andrea Pirlo did during his career.
Isco hasn’t done that, though, and so he now finds himself out of the picture as Zidane has no place for a playmaker in his side.
El Confidencial argue this may have been due to an ‘excess of self-confidence’ and the player believing that his talent alone would ensure his playing time.
They also believe that Isco’s ‘strong emotional component’ may also be a cause, pondering whether he needs to ‘feel the confidence’ of managers more than other players if he is to give his best and perform at a high level.
This is something he enjoyed under Ancelotti, Zidane and Julen Lopetegui, who all treated him ‘like a genius’, but that has an expiration date, and now he’s struggling.
It’s a problem that Zidane is yet to work out, and the suggestion is that he may not know-how, or even want to.
Thus a move would make sense and if so, why not Everton? There he’d find a manager who believes in him, trusts him and more importantly, knows how to get the best out of him.
Similarly, there is a manager who knew years ago that the player needed to develop his game if he was to succeed and prolong his career. Those are the sort of things every player needs, so perhaps this transfer rumour isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem.
