Report: Arsenal willing to pay £36m for James Rodriguez, fall short of valuation

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Spanish outlet El Desmarque have claimed that Arsenal are interested in buying Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez and are willing to spend £36million on the Colombian – but Florentino Perez wants more.

Rodriguez, 28, has spent the past two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich where he excellent. He had a hand in 35 goals during his 67 appearances, scoring 15, creating 20 and winning two Bundesliga titles.

He returned to Real Madrid in the summer and has since managed nine appearances, going in and out of the side while injury has also prevented him from featuring regularly. He is in a similar position to that of Gareth Bale.

Now, Arsenal are willing to splash £36million on the 76-time international. Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are also internatinal in Rodriguez, but it is believed Perez wants as much as £42.5m for the attacking midfielder.

TBR’s view – Arsenal need defenders, but James would be a top signing

Yes, Arsenal need to spend money on defenders and if they have a limited budget, that cash has got to be used to strengthen the backline. Signing David Luiz in the summer was simply not enough.

But if James is available to buy at just £42.5million from Real – a fee that could be reduced to find a compromise between the £36million that Arsenal have so far offered – then a deal must be orchestrated. James would be a bargain at that price.