LONDON - Real Madrid are closing in on the signing of Colombia forward James Rodríguez, according to reports in Spain.
The 22-year-old, who won the Golden Boot at the World Cup after scoring six goals in his country’s run to the quarter-finals, is believed to be back in Monaco after spending the weekend in the Spanish capital.
The Madrid-based newspaper Marca has claimed that the reigning European champions are expecting to complete the signing on Monday and the club has already prepared a villa for Rodríguez to move into.
However, French newspaper L’Equipe believes that the fee to bring Rodríguez to the Bernabéu is still not settled, with Monaco’s owner Dimitry Rybolovlev holding out for €85m (£67m) and Madrid only prepared to offer €75m.
A number of players including Ángel di María, Pepe, Sami Khedira and the goalkeeper Diego López are all reported to have rejected the chance to join Monaco.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are close to finalising a deal for the Croatia defender Dejan Lovren, who would become the third Southampton player to join Brendan Rodgers’ team this summer, following the transfers of the England internationals Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.
The new Southampton manager, Ronald Koeman, does not want the centre-half to depart and said he will go only for a healthy price. Liverpool’s offer is believed to be around £16m.
Koeman has also viewed Aston Villa’s Ron Vlaar as a direct replacement after the Aston Villa player impressed during Holland’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.
“I don’t want to lose him but, if he leaves he will only go for a top price,” Koeman said. “Ron would definitely be an option but I think he won’t be cheap right now. We just have to wait and see how it develops.”
The France striker Loïc Rémy was due to fly to Boston yesterday, where Liverpool are currently on a pre-season tour, to undergo a medical before his proposed £8m move from QPR, while Divock Origi has told Lille he, too, wants to move to Anfield and could also travel to Boston for a medical this week.
The 18-year-old impressed for Belgium at the World Cup, scoring a late winning goal against Russia. – Agencies