United lead Premier League trio in chase for Real midfielder

Manchester United are leading Arsenal and Chelsea in the chase for Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez, according to reports.

The Metro state that Manchester United have been tracking the player for a while, and that they were snubbed by Rodriguez when he chose to move to the Bernabeu in 2014.

After a successful 2014/15 campaign, in which he bagged 13 goals and 13 assists, things have not been as positive this season. Zinedine Zidane has limited his role to mostly substitute appearances, and he has struggled to find the same form as last season.

Express Sport stated in January that United had held talks about signing Rodriguez, while Spanish outlet OK Diario are saying that Rodriguez has been looking at properties in Manchester as he looks to rent out his home in Madrid.

According to ‘Spanish football expert’ Guillem Balague, Real will entertain advances for the player, but a sale is not imminent.

“The situation is he belongs to Jorge Mendes and he has been talking to other clubs,” Balague told Sky Sports.

“Real Madrid will accept offers, but at the moment there is none and they want to recover some of the money they spent on him.

“Keep an eye on that.”

Colombian legend Tino Asprilla questioned the treatment that Real Madrid and his manager are giving to Rodriguez.

“It’s not that James performs better for Colombia than for Real Madrid,” he told Marca in March.

“But that here in Colombia he gets the true importance that a player with his characteristics needs to be able to perform.

“At Real Madrid they are not giving him the importance he needs. He is a young kid, with so much talent, but James has not had the affection he needs at his club. When he had it with [Carlo] Ancelotti, the player showed his true value.

“This season he has not been able to show anything because they did not give him this special treatment that a player needs at his club.”