Lazio director laughs off possibility of ex-Everton transfer despite star form

Lazio director Angelo Fabiani has ruled out any potential move for ex-Everton star James Rodriguez - describing him as unreliable from a fitness standpoint.

The 32-year-old was the star of the Copa America as he displayed his best form for years as Colombia reached the final. He was awarded the Player of the Tournament after one goal and a record-breaking six assists in just six games and it attracted the attention of multiple European sides as the former Real Madrid player terminated his deal at Sau Paulo.

Following the competition, it was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano that he terminated his current deal at Brazilian club Sao Paulo to pursue a move back to Europe. Romano took to X to confirm the news: ‘James Rodriguez, set to be available as free agent terminating his contract by mutual agreement with São Paulo. He’s set to part ways with the club after excellent Copa América. James would love to return to European football.’ 

While those reports were the first, the latest have revealed four clubs that are interested in a move. According to Spanish outlet Cope, La Liga sides Celta Vigo, Real Betis, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal are interested, and Betis have even put a two-year contract on the table for Rodriguez.

Since then, other clubs have featured, such as Lazio, with Fabiani stating that the attacking midfielder is simply too old to be signed.  “He is 33 years old, in recent years he never managed more than 12 or 13 games per year. The Copa America performances were fairly good, but the new approach for us is based on young players. Signing him for one or two years would be against all logic, so we prefer to make other choices.”

Granted, he isn’t wrong. His form in the summer was a huge surprise given he has toiled under the radar at Al-Rayyan, Olympiakos and Sau Paulo since leaving Everton in 2021. Nobody predicted this renaissance and it’s unclear if this run of form would be sustainable over the course of a full season in Europe’s top five leagues. It’s one thing to perform across six games for his country, where it clearly means more, compared to a full, taxing campaign.