James Rodriguez Linked With Cut-Price Move to Arsenal Amid Uncertainty Over Bayern Future

Arsenal are tipped to move for Bayern Munich loanee James Rodriguez, with just £3m reportedly all that's required to bring the Colombian to the the Emirates.

Rodriguez joined the Bavarians on a two-year loan worth €13m in July 2017, and was initally a hit, collecting eight goals and 14 assists across competitions, averaging one every 92 minutes in the Bundesliga.

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However, this season has not been so successful, with a combination of injuries and poor form preventing the 27-year-old from making more than eight appearances in the league. The midfielder has been hampered by a ruptured ligament in his knee of late, but his return to first-team training has put the rumour mills back into action. 

With his immediate future, and the one beyond the summer, both uncertain, the Daily Mail report that the Gunners are considering tabling a £3m bid - the remaining balance of Bayern's £11m loan agreement - to rescue him from his troubles in Germany.

While Rodriguez's deal with Bayern includes a £40m option to buy this summer, it appears increasingly unlikely that the Bubdesliga champions will activate that clause. The Mail's report makes no mention of whether Arsenal would enter into a similar agreement with Real Madrid for the star, whose contract in Spain runs until 2020.

The news comes amidst the continued furore surrounding the future of Mesut Ozil, with Unai Emery evidently not keen on the German for tactical reasons. 

Emery's superiours have been trying to recruit Barcelona's Denis Suarez as a temporary midfield option, but La Blaugrana are holding out for a more permanent deal, or at least one which contains an obligation to buy at the end of the season.