Alex McLeish has slammed the decision made by Marcel Brands to give James Rodriguez such big wages at Everton.
The Lowdown: Rodriguez wages
As per Football Insider, the Goodison Park faithful failed to sell Rodriguez in the summer transfer window because of his £250,000-per-week wages.
The Colombia international was linked with a move away from the Merseyside club after the departure of Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid.
The Latest: McLeish on Rodriguez
Speaking to Football Insider, former Aston Villa and Rangers manager now pundit McLeish has now slammed the decision made by Brands to give Rodriguez such high wages, and feels as if he will leave sooner rather than later:
“In a word, yes, it is irresponsible.
“I would be surprised if he gets another year into the contract. The guy’s ability is unquestionable but it’s doing it consistently that’s the problem.
“That’s what Everton need to take them to the highest level, from the top eight into the Champions League places.
“Benitez has his own ideas and style of play for the team. He wants them to be really robust and work really hard.
“Rodriguez is not a Benitez type of player. I don’t see him fitting Benitez’s plan for the future.”
The Verdict: Play him then
If Rodriguez is on such big wages at the Toffees, then surely Benitez needs to find a way to give him more game time, especially if he was difficult to offload.
He scored a total of six goals and made a further nine assists in 26 matches over all competitions last season, but is yet to be used by the Spaniard so far this term (Transfermarkt).
A player of his calibre and ability simply needs to be on the pitch, and given a consistent run of games, the attacking midfield player could turn out to be the catalyst for Benitez to achieve his goals at the end of the campaign.
In other news, find out what Benitez comments have Toffees buzzing here!