Ligue 1 side Marseille have emerged as shock contenders to sign Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez.
The Colombian international returned to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the 2018-19 season, after sending two years on loan at Bundsliga side Bayern Munich.
After the German side decided not to take up their purchase option on the former AS Monaco reportedly became a target for Atletico Madrid and Napoli – however neither side formalised their interest with a bid.
Rodriguez had appeared set to see out the final year of his contract in the Spanish capital – with his first team chances boosted by a serious injury to Marco Asensio.
However according to reports in Italian sports newspaper Correire dello Sport, Andre Villas-Boas has highlighted Rodriguez as a option to improve his midfield ahead of the 2019-20 season.
The report also states that Carlo Ancelotti's side have been given a deadline by Real Madrid to make a bid, with the cut off being August 15.
