Rayo Vallecano boss provides James Rodríguez status update | OneFootball

Rayo Vallecano head coach Íñigo Pérez has on Friday spoken out on the ongoing efforts of James Rodríguez to carve out for himself a place in his first-choice XI.

Midfielder James for his part of course secured a return to La Liga over the summer.

After a stint in Brazil with São Paulo, the one-time Real Madrid man put pen to paper on a short-term deal with the aforementioned Rayo Vallecano.

James’ time at Vallecas has since proven to be something of a disappointment, though.

All told, across Rayo’s 14 league outings to date this season, the Colombian international has managed appearances in six, just one of which came from the off.

After James notched an assist en route to his side’s Copa del Rey victory over Unionistas during the week, boss Íñigo Pérez was in turn drawn on the experienced midfielder’s place in his squad once more.

And, ahead of Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Valencia, Rayo’s headmaster went on to explain:

“When we as a team are not doing well, few people can shine. I saw everyone improve, including James . He has to continue training as he trains and bring us his level when he comes on.”

Conor Laird – GSFN