The vast majority of the transfer window for Everton has revolved around James Rodriguez.
Will he or won’t he be a part of the Toffees’ plans for the season is a question on everyone’s lips, but we may have just received an answer.
What’s the word?
For so long it looked as though Rodriguez had played his final game for the Merseyside outfit. His agent Jorge Mendes was speaking to other clubs and he could have been on his way to Italy.
A move to Porto nearly materialised too with the attacking midfielder potentially heading back to his former club in exchange for winger Luis Diaz.
However, a major twist has occurred on deadline day, according to the Liverpool Echo.
They now report that, with James unable to agree on personal terms or find a suitable club in the final hours of the window, he is now willing to stay at Everton.
Rafa must be delighted
Rafa Benitez will know James well from his time at Real Madrid, and once he penned terms at Goodison Park, he will have been keen to utilise him.
However, the Colombian hasn’t been seen all season, so the Spaniard hasn’t actually been able to put him on the team sheet yet.
It’s difficult to work out whether he’d have wanted to initially, though. James infamously declared that he didn’t even know who Everton’s next opponents were during a Twitch stream a few weeks ago.
That being said, it’s difficult to ignore his qualities, and with Everton struggling to sign new players, he is still a key part of their squad.
You only need to assess his remarkable CV and his performances during a debut campaign in English football.
The Colombia international had a hand in ten Premier League goals, while he was their most creative player in the top-flight. Rodriguez provided 1.7 key passes per game, which was more than anybody else in the squad.
With that in mind, the manager will surely be delighted to see him wanting to stay at Goodison Park. He could be vital in their chase for European football.