Old Trafford boss keen on Colombian.

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Man United eye ‘South American Cristiano Ronaldo’ James Rodriguez
Manchester United are monitoring Porto star James Rodriguez, the player known as the South American Cristiano Ronaldo, according to reports in Portugal.
Sir Alex Ferguson apparently sent a scout to the Etihad Stadium to watch Manchester City’s midweek Europa League clash with Porto.

The 20-year-old midfielder has impressed since joining Porto from Argentinian club Banfield in 2010 and was rewarded with an improved deal after scoring a hat-trick in last season’s Portuguese Cup final.
His excellent form has continued this term and the youngster has found the target nine times in 15 domestic league games.
Rodriguez’s performances have now attracted attention outside Portugal, but any club that wishes to sign him would have to bid £38 million to activate the release clause in his contract.

SOURCE: Metro

Rodriguez is considered by many to be one of the hottest prospects in world football and the former Banfield man has certainly wasted no time in adapting to life in Europe, becoming an instant success since his move to FC Porto in the summer of 2010.

Whilst Porto have struggled to retain the form they showed last term, when Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas led the Portuguese club to an impressive treble of domestic league and cup triumphs as well as a Europa League trophy, Rodriguez has gone from strength to strength and has notched up nine goals and five assists in 13 league outings this term.

Though the youngster plays primarily in a wide role he is also on occasion used in a more orthodox striking role and he has impressed Ferguson sufficiently enough to have him taking a very close look at his progress this term.

Sir Alex Ferguson has adopted a youthful transfer policy over the past couple of years, preferring to bring in up and coming talent over the purchasing of established stars. This approach has been very fruitful for the Old Trafford boss as he has seen the likes of Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones make an instant impact in the Man United first team set-up.

Rodriguez is a speedy intelligent attacking weapon who has served FC Porto well over the past 18 months. This has led to many in Portugual to compare his style of play to that of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Whether Ferguson is willing to meet the rather pricey £38m release clause is another matter.

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