Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has questioned Real Madrid’s negotiating tactics over James Rodriquez as talks over the Colombian drag on.
It’s believed the 28-year-old is keen to join the Partenopei in order to reunite with Carlo Ancelotti, but so far talks have failed to reach a positive conclusion.
While both sides agree on the €42 million valuation, Napoli want to the deal structured with an initial loan while Real want to sell Rodriguez outright.
This has struck a nerve with De Laurentiis, who questioned why the Spanish side were willing to loan the Colombian to Bayern Munich but not to Napoli.
“There is something I don’t understand,” he told Il Mattino. “Why can Bayern, who have three times the revenue of Napoli, sign James Rodriguez on loan and we can’t?
“I would like to see how he and Ancelotti get on with the rest of the team first.
“If James would arrive on loan, nobody would say no to that, because we would be able to sign another forward who could guarantee 30 goals a season alongside Arkadiusz Milik.
“Otherwise, I have to think about someone else with an eye to the future.”
Recent reports have linked Rodriguez with a move to Atletico Madrid, and De Laurentiis didn’t shy away from talking about alternatives.
“It could be Pepe or someone else,” he added. “He scores more goals than Hirving Lozano.
“James is a without a doubt a very talented player, but if you look at his career he has never really delivered on that potential.”
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com