The James Rodriguez-Luis Diaz swap: So close, but so far for Everton

Back in the summer of 2021, Everton were very close to a major signing.

The Toffees only spent £1.7M that transfer window, as financial issues began to bite. Carlo Ancelotti had left, Rafael Benitez had come in and Demarai Gray was the only player Everton spent any real money on.

Denzel Dumfries and Tino Livramento (or at least, one of them) may well have come in if not for Benitez’s intervention, but as we eventually learned, Everton’s budget was beginning to run out, and PSR issues were starting to take hold.

But, there was still some cash to spend, if Everton could be crafty.

And in all fairness to Marcel Brands, albeit, no doubt with the help of a certain super agent, a crafty plan was proposed as the summer transfer window wound down.

Everton wanted another attacker with genuine pace and real quality.

Luis Diaz fit the bill.

He had starred for Porto, and had just turned in a series of excellent displays for Colombia at the Copa America, finishing joint-top scorer, level with the great Lionel Messi.

The crux of the issue was Everton needed to offer cash plus a player, and they needed to clear wages.

The answer: James Rodriguez.

James was a brilliant player for Everton — when fit. I absolutely adored the guy. His left foot was magic, he is by far the best player I have seen play for the Toffees. Of course, given this is Everton and we’re a social experiment, hardly any Evertonians actually got to see the Colombian play in the flesh.

But in August 2021, it was becoming clear Benitez would not play James. It was also becoming clear Everton wanted to get his wages, reported to be around £250,000 per week, off the books.

A swap, then, was in the works.

James would return to Porto, and Diaz would come to Everton.

It went as far as a medical having been booked for Diaz, and personal terms close to being agreed. 

The problem was, James didn’t particularly want to go back to Porto for the significant wage drop that would have been required.

In the end, James stayed put, as did Diaz. 

Everton missed out on a key target that would surely have ensured they never got into trouble in terms of a relegation scrap that season, and five months later, to add insult to injury, Diaz was signing for Liverpool.

Midway through September, James was pushed out to Qatar, and Everton’s season spiralled out of control under Benitez, whose appointment is still, regardless of everything else, the biggest single mistake of the Farhad Moshiri era.

But why am I ranting on about something that happened five years ago? 

Well, in the early hours of Thursday morning, Colombia will kick-start their World Cup campaign against Uzbekistan.

Diaz and James are both set to play key roles.

Two years ago, James starred at the Copa America, as Colombia reached the final, providing six assists.

James has essentially been saving himself for Colombia for the past few years. He is now, pretty much, exclusively an international footballer, who uses club football to train and keep fit enough to offer something in tournament football.

Given his injury issues, this is probably James’ last World Cup. It was back in 2014 that he burst to superstardom and won the Golden Boot in Brazil, of course.

I’ll always have a soft spot for James, and while we grew to dislike Diaz, due to what he offered our neighbours, there is no doubting he is an excellent forward.

He has thrived at Bayern Munich this season, scoring 15 goals and providing 14 assists in the Bundesliga alone, and he is Colombia’s real threat, even if James will no doubt act as talisman.

There’s Yerry Mina to look forward to seeing again, too. He’s probably more likely to play a back-up role, but as far as former (and almost) Everton players go, Colombia have plenty for us to keep an eye on.

Back to James and Diaz, it was a sliding doors moment for Everton. A genuinely top-quality player, heading into his prime, was keen on joining the club, yet they could not find a mechanism to make it work; it’s hard to attach blame to James, either — why would you drop your wage to suit a club that is desperate to push you out?

So, if any of you are getting up early (or staying up late?) to keep an eye on that Colombia game, then just try not to think too much about what might have been.

Read more - Could Jordan Pickford become Everton’s second World Cup winner?

 

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