Arsenal handed boost if they want to go back in for Rodriguez during the summer

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Real Madrid may not have space in their squad for returning loanee James Rodriguez next season following the signing of Eder Militao, according to Marca.

They report that the Brazilian’s arrival from Porto means that Real will already have the maximum of three non-EU players in their squad, potentially forcing James into an exit.

Elsewhere, El Confidencial report that Rodriguez is categorically not in Zinedine Zidane’s plans and that they will start the bidding at 60 million euros, but could perhaps drop that to 50m (£42.7m) if necessary.

That could potentially be of interest to Arsenal, who the Evening Standard reported back in January were keen on engineering a deal for the Colombian playmaker.

£42.7m as a best price for an outcast may seem steep for Unai Emery, but if he completes a clear-out of his own, it may work out to be decent business if he can put the 27-year-old at the heart of his Arsenal plans.

But the issue is that James appears to be a similar player to Mesut Ozil – who Emery has failed to regularly get the best out of.

Rodriguez is a playmaker who needs the team to be built around him and while he is a slightly more willing runner than Ozil, he is not a high-octane player and that’s what Emery seems to want.

But if the former PSG boss feels that Rodriguez is the man he needs to elevate his new-look Gunners side, the potential asking price is not obscene.