Tottenham Hotspur were one of the teams mooted with interest in James Rodriguez during the summer transfer window, but the 29-year-old would opt for a reunion with his former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti at Everton...

What was the word?

According to the Daily Mail in August, Spurs had the Colombian sensation on their radar, though several Premier League clubs were also in the race as it was believed Rodriguez was keen to make the move to England.

He would then sign for the Toffees for free despite claims he would cost around £22m - Rodriguez's former club, Banfield, released a statement (via Goal.com) claiming they would not be receiving any funds from the transfer as he didn't cost the Merseyside outfit a penny.

Perhaps that only goes to show just how desperate the La Liga giants were to offload his £140k-per-week wages from their financial bill.

Everton's steal

The £31.5m-rated playmaker has already proven that, on his day, he's still that world-class sensation we witnessed at the 2014 World Cup.

Per WhoScored, Rodriguez has delivered three goals and three assists in ten starts, whilst also averaging 2.5 key passes, 2.2 shots and 1.9 dribbles per game.

Gabby Agbonlahor's misguided claim that his recent form had tailed off due to the "cold" English weather is merely an uneducated view as he's been so much more than what the numbers state.

Even during their drab 1-1 draw with Burnley last week, the enigmatic maestro, who's now only on £90k-per-week, led Ancelotti's pressing system and attempted more tackles than any other player on the pitch and no other attacking Toffees player made as many defensive contributions either.

In reality, he would've been the perfect fit for Jose Mourinho, especially with performances like the one we just saw against Arsenal - doing the dirty work when needed and the ability to turn on the style at a click of the fingers.

The sort of player that Spurs have lacked ever since the departure of Christian Eriksen.

Not a single player of the north London outfit has managed more key passes or dribbles than Rodriguez, whilst it is only Harry Kane that has managed more attempts at goal per game, via WhoScored.

During his time in Munich, Jupp Heynckes lauded him a "god-send" for the club whilst Madrid president once claimed Rodriguez was "a new talent" who "oozes quality."

Kane's international teammate, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, has also waxed lyrical, he told the ECHO: "He’s a top, top player and for me, as a centre-forward, I knew chance-creation would be there and it would be down to me to put the ball in the back of the net. I’m really enjoying playing with him. He’s a different level. He dictates games."

You could only imagine how good a midfield of Rodriguez, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele would've been at Spurs.

AND in other news, Levy must perform a U-turn over £150k-p/w "freak of a talent" amid fresh Mourinho claims...