Sport nationEverton’s goalkeeper, Joao Virginia, has taken to Instagram to beg James Rodriguez to return to the club this summer. Virginia’s comment was brief, but he implored Rodriguez to reconsider a Goodison Park return, writing: “Amazing brother, come back.”
Rodriguez, a two-time Champions League winner, joined Everton for just one year under Carlo Ancelotti but was swiftly forced out by Rafa Benitez after the Italian traded Merseyside for Madrid. However, by all accounts, he had no intentions of leaving.
While almost every Evertonian would love to see Rodriguez in the royal blue of Everton again, given most were starved of that pleasure due to the pandemic, there would simply be no place within Sean Dyche’s system for a player of such luxury.
In Dyche’s system, the right winger and attacking midfielder both have key parts to play in his pressing, with the formation changing to a 4-4-2 out of possession to cover as much ground as possible. Rodriguez is a truly world-class operator, and shows no signs of slowing down with age, but it is unlikely that he would be content sitting behind the ball relentlessly, forced to feed off scraps.
Rodriguez has hinted at an Everton comeback before, but unfortunately for Everton, that ship has likely sailed. The club has boasted some incredible talent over the last decade or so, and yet somehow, the club has regressed. It’s startling to see superstars and leading figures in their respective positions come to Goodison Park, shine, but somehow leave the Toffees in a worse place than before.
That is predominantly down to Farhad Moshiri’s ineptitude and the failure of the scouting system beneath him to build on these assets, but the Dan Friedkin era promises to expunge that recent history in favor of a more sustainable model. So, in seeking to usher in this new period of prosperity, they can no longer be tempted by the luxuries of the past.
Amina Umar
Sport nation
Austute Man