Former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino has urged his former club to avoid signing Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez, suggesting he could be the Blues’ version of El-Hadji Diouf.
Rodriguez, 25, has been linked with a move to Chelsea in recent weeks. Furthermore, the Mirror reported that Antonio Conte wants the Colombia star to replace the outgoing Oscar – who is set for a move to China.
However, Cascarino, who spent two years at Chelsea during the 1990s, has urged the Blues to think long and hard about signing the playmaker.
Writing in his Times column, as reported by the Liverpool Echo, Cascarino said: “Madrid have seen the danger in buying a player based largely on tournament success. Rodríguez won the golden boot
for his six goals at the 2014 World Cup — including the stunning volley against Uruguay — but prior to that had played in the Portuguese and French leagues, with Porto and Monaco respectively.
“He had impressed, but they are not of the same standard as La Liga or the Premier League and he has struggled to make his mark in a similar way to Gareth Bale, who Madrid signed a year earlier.
“Liverpool had a similar situation with El Hadji Diouf after he starred for Senegal at the 2002 World Cup. Diouf was in the All Star team after the tournament and Liverpool paid £10 million to get him from Lens, but it soon became clear he wasn’t the world- beater Gérard Houllier thought he was signing. Rodríguez is a more talented player than Diouf, but I wonder if he would have any more impact in the Premier League.”
Diouf joined Liverpool in 2002 following an explosive World Cup where he played a key role in helping Senegal knock out holders France.
However, once the forward arrived at Anfield, he didn’t fit into the club and was then shipped off to Bolton in 2005.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez, like Diouf, had an explosive World Cup which resulted in him earning a big money transfer, joining Real Madrid from Monaco in 2014. But it appears the playmaker isn’t in Zinedine Zidane’s long-term plans in the Spanish capital.
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