Newcastle United are set to open talks with Everton over the possibility of signing James Rodriguez, journalist Ekrem Konur has claimed. 

The lowdown

Formerly of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the 30-year-old moved to Goodison Park last summer on a free transfer. He enjoyed a strong debut campaign, contributing six Premier League goals and four assists to earn a squad-high WhoScored rating of 7.21.

However, the Colombian's future is now in serious doubt following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought him to Merseyside. Indeed, The Athletic's Patrick Boyland reported that Rodriguez will be free to leave if the 'right offer' comes in.

He ostensibly has only one year left on his current deal, but Everton have the option to extend it for a further 12 months. As a result, he is valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt, a shade less than what the Magpies paid for Joe Willock.

The latest

Taking to Twitter, Konur claimed that Newcastle 'plan to hold talks' over a deal for the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner.

They will apparently be doing so 'at Steve Bruce's request', with the 60-year-old seemingly sensing an opportunity to bring the Colombian to Tyneside.

The verdict

Rodriguez would theoretically become Newcastle's highest-paid player, but not by much. He pockets £90,000 per week at Everton, slightly more than Newcastle's top earner Joelinton (£86,500).

Wages may not be a stumbling block, but it's still very hard to see this move materialising. The 30-year-old could be open to the possibility of remaining in England, but his ambitions surely far exceed those of Newcastle, who have finished either 12th or 13th in each of the last three seasons.

Indeed, he would have joined Everton thinking that European football was on the horizon, and so it seems unlikely that he'd be willing to settle for a likely bottom-half finish on Tyneside.

In other news, Noel Whelan has had his say on this rumoured Newcastle exit.