Rayo Vallecano confirm new signing James Rodríguez’s status for Barcelona clash

Rayo Vallecano head coach Iñigo Pérez has provided an insight into the status of James Rodríguez for the club’s showdown with Barcelona.

The name of midfielder James, of course, has taken its place back front and centre in the headlines across Spain over the course of the day to date.

This comes after the ex-Real Madrid standout’s La Liga return was made official.

After terminating his contract with Brazilian giants São Paulo earlier in the summer, James – fresh off securing Player of the Tournament honours at the Copa América – was quickly sought out by a number of European clubs.

And, on Monday, one such club – the aforementioned Rayo Vallecano – officially closed a deal for his signature.

With Rayo primed to return to action in just 24 hours’ time, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of the Colombian icon’s availability to face Barcelona was put to headmaster Iñigo Pérez.

Pérez, though, went on to confirm that the Rayo faithful ‘will have to wait to see him’:

“We are very happy with the arrival of James. He is a player with great status and now it is our turn to take advantage of him. We will have to wait to see him because he has not trained since the Copa América final. We will have to calm down our desire and wait to see him.”

Conor Laird | GSFN