Pundit Rob Lee has recently delivered his opinion about whether Everton should hand a new contract to James Rodriguez or not.
Rodriguez has done well in the Premier League for the Toffees, contributing to 11 goals in a total of 22 games for the Toffees under Carlo Ancelotti. In the club’s FA Cup run, Rodriguez racked up three assists in just two appearances – a reflection of his impressive performances for the club.
It was recently reported that Marcel Brands is looking to tie down the Colombian to a new contract at Goodison Park and that is one of his main aims for the summer. Rodriguez’s current deal runs out in the summer of 2022.
Should Everton hand James a new deal?
Yes
No
Rob Lee was having a chat with Football FanCast recently. He made it clear that he doesn’t understand the decision to hand him a new deal because there won’t be clubs after him anyway and there’s still time for him to extend the deal.
He stated: “He’s only been there a year so I don’t know why they would give him a new contract and will there be loads of clubs wanting him after the season he’s had? He’s been really good sometimes and then not great other times.
“I don’t understand football clubs but he’s obviously a very good player. If I was the club I’d be telling him to play well next season and we’ll reward you with a new contract.”
TIF Thoughts on Lee’s comments…
In the current campaign, Rodriguez has come up with 3.73 shot creation actions per 90 minutes for the Toffees. While as many as 15 players have a higher tally than him, he’s Everton’s leader in this statistic. It shows that he’s still their most creative player (as per FBRef).
He has also come up with 0.69 goal creation actions per 90 minutes and only seven Premier League stars have a higher tally than him, which is impressive.
Everton should consider these stats as positive signs and because of that, it won’t be a bad idea to hand him a new deal soon.
In other news: ‘Is there something behind the scenes’ – Journalist ‘baffled’ by Ancelotti decision at Everton