Wolverhampton Wanderers have the upper-hand in a possible swap deal for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, according to El Desmarque.
In a report published on Thursday by the Spanish sports news outlet, it was revealed that Jorge Mendes has offered a possible swap deal to Los Blancos (via The Sun).
However, the condition to the Colombian’s potential arrival is that Wolves’ 22-year-old midfielder, Ruben Neves, would be going in the opposite direction, to the Santiago Bernabeu (per El Desmarque).
The deal’s catching point
It is without a doubt, the hold-up in a potential deal could be the Midlands club’s potential reluctance to let go their star midfielder, especially as he’s still only 22.
Indeed, coupled with the fact that Rodriguez is six years the senior of the Portuguese midfielder (via Transfermarkt), then the Old Gold would be missing out on Neves’ peak years.
Although Wolves wanting a player of Rodriguez’s quality at Molineux seems nailed on in theory, it appears as though it needs much more thought in practice.
TiF Tactics – How does Rodriguez compare?
First and foremost, both of the players are of an immense quality that offer various attributes that would be key to any top side in world football.
Across this season, however, the Colombian, who is valued at £45 million (as per Transfermarkt), just edges it in terms of their average rating.
In 22 senior appearances at club and international level, Neves has managed an average score of 6.62/10, whereas the Real Madrid man has a 6.94/10 across 15 outings in all competitions (as per Whoscored). Neves has averaged 0.6 key passes per game for club and country this season, which may have been slightly hampered by the position he has taken up in a deeper role. In comparison to Rodriguez, he averages 2 key passes per game, so perhaps the Midlands club could reap more rewards in the final third with the South American at Molineux.
It will be a tough one to conclude for Espirito Santo, should the deal be firmly on the table, but either way Wolves will have a world-class centre-midfielder at their disposal.