Season 2021-22 Opinion Talking Points

Is Isco worth another bite of the James cherry for Everton?

Everton may have seen their fingers burnt somewhat by a deal for James Rodriguez that promised much and delivered very little, but time is a great healer and memories soon fade. With that in mind, could the Toffees jump straight back into the fire?

A potentially better line of questioning could be, should they take that leap again?

There is more than a tinge of ‘fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me' to a quandary that power brokers at Goodison Park may find themselves facing when another transfer window swings open.

That is because there have been murmurs of interest in Isco. Said talk has not risen above much more than a whisper for now, but the Real Madrid midfielder is generating plenty of speculation heading into January.

He is a man who has taken in over 340 appearances for a team that is well fancied to recapture a La Liga title this season while sitting at 16/1 within the latest Champions League odds at Paddy Power to conquer the continent in 2022.

In many ways, Isco is the kind of player that Everton should be striving to acquire if there are ambitions on the blue half of Merseyside of sitting inside Champions League tips of the future, with his pedigree beyond question.

He does, however, set off a number of alarm bells, with the loudest of those concerning his standing at Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid are not the kind of club to let top talent slip their net.

Fresh start

The fact that they are apparently willing to listen to offers for a player who has been on their books since 2013 suggests that Isco may not be the coup he once was. He may not be a spent force, but a star who once shone brightly in the Spanish capital is definitely on the wane.

Perhaps all he needs is a fresh start, with a change of scenery set to do him the world of good. On his day he remains a match-winner, and if those qualities become available on the open market then it would be foolish to ignore them.

There is, however, no escaping the fact that Everton have been here before — and not all that long ago. A tricky playmaker stagnating in Madrid that has European medals and international caps to his name — ring any bells?

The Toffees are only a matter of months out from ridding themselves of James, with the enigmatic Colombian arriving among much fanfare only to be unceremoniously ushered out of the back door a year later.

I want to thank my teammates, who welcomed me well, I wish them the best and I also want to thank Everton fans. A pity not to have played in goodison park with you, it would have been very nice. I always wanted to win , that is my mentality. I wish you all the best. 👋🏼 JR10 pic.twitter.com/YRwzlPtfco

— James Rodrà­guez (@jamesdrodriguez) September 23, 2021

He was a player very much in the Isco mould, and that experiment did not work out as planned.

Everton, though, are in a position where a few more calculated risks need to be taken. Funds are in short supply and proven performers at the highest level are not to be sniffed at, regardless of their current standing.

Yes, James proved to be a Premier League flop, but Isco has a bit more about him and may be better suited to the cut and thrust of life in the English top tier than his former team-mate. Sometimes it is worth taking a second bite of the cherry even if the first turned a little sour.

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