Colombia legend Carlos Valderrama has urged James Rodriguez to find ‘continuity’ in order to become a ‘world star’ at Goodison Park.
Rodriguez joined Everton on a free transfer from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, in arguably the Blues biggest signing in decades.
He made an immediate impact upon arrival, with three goals and three assists in his first five league games, plus an assist against West Ham in the EFL Cup, seeing Everton win four and draw one in a flying start to the campaign.
However, an injury picked up in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in October, courtesy of an early challenge from Virgil van Dijk, soon put an end to that.
Rodriguez would go without a goal or an assist until January, managing just one game across December as a persistent calf strain saw him miss wins over Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal and Sheffield United.
The Colombian has struggled for his best form since that derby, and Valderrama believes he needs consistency if he is to get firing at Everton once again.
“What James needs is continuity,” he told Marca.
“You see him, he scores a goal and is the star of the match; the next, he doesn’t play; then he comes back and plays 20 minutes.
“After that, 50 minutes… For him to be a world star, he needs to have continuity.
“Play, play and play. That’s when you realise if he’s good or bad. You take stock, and out of 40 games, he played 15… So you don’t know.”
