Former Premier League player Carlton Palmer has described James Rodriguez’s move to Everton as “a gamble that hasn’t worked out”.
The Colombia midfielder completed a move to Qatari side Al Rayyan from Everton last month, just 12 months after joining the Toffees [BBC Sport].
Brought into the football club by former manager Carlo Ancelotti, Rodriguez featured 26 times for Everton in all competitions, scoring six goals and creating a further nine.
Was the James Rodriguez move a hit or miss for Everton?
Hit
Miss
Rodriguez has a tremendous resume, having played for the likes of Real Madrid, FC Porto, Bayern Munich, Club Atletico Banfield and AS Monaco, but the 30-year-old hadn’t featured for the Toffees this season prior to his departure from the club and Palmer believes he was a gamble that’s not worked out.
“It’s a gamble that hasn’t worked out. The player has been disrespectful. I think when he was interviewed, he didn’t even know who Everton were playing on the weekend and he was the highest paid player,” Palmer told This is Futbol.
New Everton manager Rafa Benitez brought his own players into the football club this summer with Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray, Asmir Begovic, Salomon Rondon and Andy Lonergan all arriving at Goodison Park.
Benitez has hit the ground running with his new club, as in their opening six Premier League matches, they picked up 13 points which was just one fewer than league leaders Liverpool, with the Spaniard looking to help improve on the club’s tenth place finish in the league last season.