Is James signing test for Everton board

There are further rumours circulating that Everton are ‘close’ to securing the signature of the Real Madrid star James Rodriguez. So is his transfer a test for the Blues board?

We’ve written recently that Ancelotti has supposedly become frustrated by the failure of the Everton top brass to secure the signings he wants as he was promised when he agreed to become the Toffees manager last year.

First Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and then most recently Lille central defender Gabriel Magalhaes, have slipped through the club’s fingers. Both were allegedly key targets of the Italian.

The stories have claimed that the Blues boss has been considering possibly walking away from Everton, if the club cannot get the players he wants.

I doubt the veracity of these rumours, there’s probably very little in it to be honest. I think Ancelotti is too much of a professional to walk away this quickly, having only joined the Toffees in December. But he will surely be very concerned if anymore of his chosen targets aren’t secured.

So perhaps in a way, the Rodriguez transfer is a sort of litmus test for Ancelotti to see whether the Blues hierarchy will pull out all the stops and do everything possible to secure the signature of another player he clearly rates very highly.

The reason I say this is because this rumour has, unlike the stories surrounding other targets Allan and Gabriel, suddenly popped up again almost out of the blue, so to speak.

Although Everton were linked with the Real star a few months back, the story had died and most of us just assumed it was idle paper talk doing the rounds.

These new rumours include suggestions that talks have been going on for a while behind the scenes. Well perhaps that’s true but could it be that these tentative negotiations have been conducted initially between the manager and player based on their strong personal relationship?

Ever since he arrived at Goodison Park, we’ve heard about the ‘Ancelotti effect’ and how the Italian’s enormous clout and renowned man-management skills would go a long way to helping Everton secure high-profile players, previously beyond the club’s reach.

Indeed it was one of the main attractions in bringing in the ex-AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSG coach at such huge expense.

So far it hasn’t seemed to be a factor though and the players mentioned above, have not been swayed to join Everton because of him.

Well we might now be able to see it in action, if indeed a deal for the Colombian star is getting closer to being realised. Ancelotti’s presence in the Toffees dugout is seen as a hugely significant reason why the 29-year-old would quit life in the Spanish capital for a wet and windy Merseyside.

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It does seem that Ancelotti is gaining increasing influence over the club’s transfer policy this summer and is going for the older, experienced players he wants to ensure immediate progress next season.

But it still requires the board to find the finances to make it happen. That is the big unknown in this potential deal or indeed any other the club are being linked with.

From the outside it looks like the Blues have been playing a long game in the transfer market. It seems they are adamant they won’t meet what they consider to be extortionate fees for players in this new financial climate.

So will Everton sanction a deal for another 29-year-old in Rodriguez that might cost upwards of £25 million when they are already supposedly committed to bringing in at least two other expensive players?

And if they don’t and this deal falls through, will Ancelotti see it as final confirmation that he won’t be backed in the market as he was promised in December? As always we can only wait and see.