Everton are planning a double swoop on La Liga to sign James Rodríguez and Santiago Arias from Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid respectively.
That’s according to AS, who say the Toffees are targeting the Colombian duo to make a trio Los Cafeteros players at Goodison Park alongside Yerry Mina.
Rodríguez has been put on the market by Real Madrid, who are desperate to sell given his contract expires next summer, and Zinedine Zidane has no place for him in his squad.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti is ‘pulling strings’ at the club to sign the midfielder, who he worked with at both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and tried to sign for Napoli last summer.
The Italian’s presence on Merseyside is said to make it ‘easier’ for Rodríguez to end up Everton in the summer.
The Blues interest in Arias, meanwhile, is nothing new. AS explain that they have had him ‘on their books’ since he arrived at Atlético.
Marcel Brands is a big fan of the Colombian having signed him from PSV Eindhoven and watched him star in the Netherlands, where was named the best right-back in the league in 2017/18.
He ‘believes’ in the full-back ‘blindly’, something the player has never had since moving to Spain, where he’s struggled for game time under Diego Simeone.
Everton are not the only club interested, though, with Inter Milan and Napoli keen, meaning Everton face competition if they are to reunite him with Brands.
However, they can offer him the chance to link up with his international teammates Mina and Rodríguez, something that isn’t on offer in Italy.
