IF RODRYGO leaves Real Madrid and comes to England over the next few weeks, it could be good for him, good for the Brazilian national team… and good for the Premier League.
Tottenham and Liverpool are both keeping tabs on the star, who comes with a price tag of around £80million.
Man City and Arsenal are both also monitoring the situation carefully.
If Rodrygo lines up for a Premier League club next season, it will mark a major first for the game in this country.
It is arguable that English football has never been able to lure a genuine, absolute top drawer Brazilian superstar.
Chelsea’s new signing Estevao Willian has the potential to become the one – at 24, Rodrygo is much more reality than potential.
But for all his triumphs, he could be more.
But perhaps he has been paying the price for taking the road to Real Madrid – irresistible, just like Barcelona, for any Brazilian talent, but always with a possible pitfall.
In order to fit so many stars into the side, someone has to sacrifice.
Last season was not a happy one at the Bernabeu for Rodrygo – and it may have plenty to do with the arrival of Kylian Mbappe.
Previously, Real had lost Karin Benzema, and then-coach Carlo Ancelotti had found a way to operate without a fixed centre forward.
Vinicius Junior would cut in from the left wing to attack the vacant space, and Rodrygo would flit around and work out where he could do the most damage. Mbappe destroyed the equilibrium.
Jude Bellingham said last season that he thought Rodrygo was the most gifted, talented player in the entire Real Madrid squad – and that he was also the one who sacrificed himself most for the side.
Sometimes versatility can be a curse. In the case of Vinicius, it is very clear what he does – he is a winger with a remarkable extra gear who can play outside to in, breaking towards the penalty box.
Defining Rodrygo is more difficult.
He is such a complete talent, able to operate all across the attacking line, that he is harder to categorise – and so it may be easier to try to bend him into any shape that best fits the needs of the team.
The change of coach does not appear to have improved matters for the young Brazilian.
Under new boss Xabi Alonso he did not feature much during the Club World Cup – and the only time he started he was used as a hug-the-touchline right winger, which would seem a very restrictive role for a player of his intelligence and ability.
The time may well have come for him to seek a club where he can be more important in the pecking order, where he has more of a say in sorting out his function, where he can truly define himself as a player.
Tite, the coach who took Brazil to the last two World Cups, was delighted to have Rodrygo on board.
Before the rise of Vini Junior, Tite even flirted with the idea of making Rodrygo even more central to his attacking plans.
He beamed about Rodrygo, and described him as “a footballer.”
It would seem in everyone’s best interests to give him the freedom to determine exactly what type of footballer he wants to be.
And if that can happen in the Premier League, then English fans will have plenty to savour.
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