What looked only recently like a fanciful rumour has turned into a genuine transfer pursuit, with Avellino working to an exact timeline for landing James Rodríguez.
According to Sky Sport, the Serie B club intend to put a formal proposal to the Colombian's representatives by the end of Tuesday, with club president Angelo Antonio D'Agostino having already confirmed the depth of Avellino's interest.
To help fund a deal well beyond the division's normal standards, the club have brought in their technical sponsor, several commercial partners and their marketing department, and reports suggest Rodríguez himself has shown a genuine openness to the move, having been left unconvinced by offers from elsewhere since becoming a free agent following his exit from Minnesota United.
Now 35, Rodríguez remains one of the most decorated players never to have featured in Italian football. He rose to prominence with Envigado and Banfield before joining Porto at 19, winning three league titles there and scoring 32 goals in 108 games. A €70 million joint move with João Moutinho took him to Monaco, where a strong solitary season earned an €80 million transfer to Real Madrid and the number 10 shirt.
His form fluctuated in the Spanish capital, but he won two Champions League titles before Carlo Ancelotti, his first Madrid coach, brought him to Bayern Munich in 2017. Two more league titles followed in Germany, taking his overall trophy count to 24, before a return to Real Madrid in 2019 failed to convince Zinedine Zidane. What followed was a well-travelled second half of his career: Everton, Al-Rayyan, Olympiacos, São Paulo, Rayo Vallecano, León and Minnesota United, with Rodríguez changing clubs seven times since 2021 without settling anywhere for long.
His standing with Colombia has never wavered in the same way. Now the national team's captain, he has made a record 131 appearances, many alongside brother-in-law David Ospina, and his 31 international goals trail only Radamel Falcao in the country's history. He was named best player of the 2024 Copa América, which Colombia lost in the final, and captained the side through this year's World Cup.
A move to Avellino would be Rodríguez's first experience of Italian football. The Irpinia club, coached by Alessandro Nesta, would not need to negotiate a transfer fee given his free-agent status, though accommodating his wages would represent a significant financial commitment for a Serie B side, which is why the club has moved to involve commercial partners in structuring an offer capable of matching his usual earning power.
Rodríguez is understood to be motivated more by the prospect of regular football and a fresh stage to perform on than by matching his previous salaries, having already earned a substantial fortune across a career spent almost entirely at major clubs.