It’s fair to say that this summer was something of a turbulent one for James Rodriguez and Everton.
The Colombian wanted out, Rafa Benitez was happy to see it happen, and thus we were treated to several months of transfer speculation, comments and Jorge Mendes working as hard as he could.
Ultimately that never happened, with no clubs electing to take a gamble on Rodriguez and leaving him at Goodison Park.
That’s not worked out for the best as the Colombian is yet to feature for the Blues, who have started the season in fine form under their new manager.
They say the midfielder is not currently sitting on the sidelines because of a ‘personal decision’ but because of his manager’s plans on the pitch.
He is training and ‘wants to play’, and this is something Benitez is aware of, but he has no place for him in his current lineup.
The pieces are ‘already complete’ in that particular line up, with the likes of Demarai Gray and Abdoulaye Doucoure filling the hole and offering much more to the team.
Gray, for example, has already scored three goals from the wing, while Doucoure has already equalled the number of assists he managed last season.
That means there’s no space, and thus Rodriguez is the last of the Spaniard’s options at this moment in time.
Of course, that can always change, and football has certainly seen bigger comebacks, but for the minute, Rodriguez is out of the picture at Everton, a decision that’s not one of his choosing.
