Real Madrid to let James Rodriguez and Isco leave club amid Premier League giants links

Real Madrid are looking at dumping James Rodriguez and Isco at the end of the season after the pair were scapegoated for the current crisis at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to reports in Spain. Both Marca and AS reported on 1 March that the players were given an ultimatum following recent results, and Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal are on alert with a view to luring them to the Premier League.

Colombia international Rodriguez moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in the aftermath of the 2014 World Cup, where he was one of the stand-out stars. Reports at the time said Manchester United were also tracking him, but Real Madrid came out on top after paying €80m (£62.2m, 86.9m) to Monaco to fill the gap left by the departure of Angel Di Maria.

Isco, meanwhile, joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2013, leaving Malaga in a deal worth €30m. At the time he was regarded as a potential future leader of the Spanish national team.

The pair have since shown glimpses of their undoubted talent, but have failed to shine consistently over the course of a season. As both players used to function as a number 10 in their previous sides, they have struggled to fulfil their defensive duties at Real Madrid to balance out the attacking trio of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Rodriguez has also been criticised following a number of newspaper reports suggesting a poor attitude.

Marca and AS conclude that both players may find themselves on the market at the end of the season, unless they convince manager Zinedine Zidane that they deserve a place in the squad during the remainder of the campaign.

Marca suggested that Los Blancos will have no problem cashing-in on big name players, following examples in recent seasons when they sold the likes of Di Maria and Arsenal's record signing Mesut Ozil.

Manchester United have been long-term admirers of Rodriguez and Real Madrid could recoup most of the £62.2m they paid to Monaco in 2014 for his signature.

Meanwhile, Marca believe both Manchester City and Arsenal are prospective destinations for Isco, with Real Madrid looking at a fee in excess of £31m to conclude a move to England.

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