La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid reportedly handed James Rodriguez a nine-day ultimatum to accept a backup role with the club or else leave with English Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal rumored to be on high alert after learning of the said development.
The Sun reported that the 25-year-old attacking midfielder was left by head coach Zinedine Zidane on the bench during Los Blancos' Spanish top flight opener against Real Sociedad on Sunday, despite the team missing the services of starters Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Luka Modric.
Zidane chose to field in Mateo Kovacic, Casemiro, and Toni Kroos over Rodriguez in his midfield while the French boss also had Gareth Bale, Alvaro Morata, and newcomer Marco Asensio in his forward line even though the Colombian captain is healthy and available.
He eventually replaced Morata at the 77th minute of the contest with Real already up 2-0 with goals from Bale and Asensio.
Other midfielders Lucas Vazquez and Isco were also on the pitch before Rodriguez, substituting for Asensio and Kroos at the 66th and 73rd minutes respectively, which indicates that Rodriguez is really not a first-choice player for Zidane at the Bernabéu. This gives proof on the latest transfer rumors mentioning the Cúcuta, Colombia native's name alongside Premier League teams Chelsea and Arsenal.
The report mentioned that the Blues are lining up a £60 million bid for the Colombia international, but the Spanish capital city residents have yet to respond.
Meanwhile, Metro indicated that the Gunners are also interested in Rodriguez and are preparing a £51.5 million swoop for their midfield target, which is versatile enough to also play forward or winger if that is what Arsene Wenger wants from him.
If the deal pushes through, the said amount would be a club record signing for the stingy Wenger as the current record stands at £42.5 million when the team acquired Mesut Özil from Real Madrid during the deadline day of summer 2013.
Based on Arsenal's transfer history, they might be waiting for deadline day again before pulling off another summer blockbuster deal.
Rodriguez was signed by Los Blancos in the summer of 2014 from Ligue 1 side Monaco for £63 million and still he was not able to snag a starting XI spot throughout his two seasons with the club.