View: Everton can escape takeover misery by signing 'Stunning' star for free after Romano update

Everton appeared to be on the brink of a long-awaited return to normality this summer before Dan Friedkin dramatically pulled out of his takeover agreement last week.

The collapse of his purchase from Farhad Moshiri has left the Toffees fanbase in a crushingly familiar position of uncertainty and concern in the midst of a transfer window that had been looking relatively positive.

So the news that former Goodison star James Rodriguez is set to become available on a free transfer and wants to come back to Europe has offered the club an unlikely way to claw back some excitement.

Fabrizio Romano reported via X late on 21 July that the Colombian star is about to terminate his Sao Paulo contract by mutual agreement following an “excellent” showing at the Copa America and would now “love to return to European football”.

Everton takeover by Dan Friedkin has collapsed

James won the player of the tournament award despite losing to Argentina in the final [The Athletic, 15 July] to prove that he still has quality despite his advancing years in what the Associated Press (11 July) called a “stunning revival”.

The 33-year-old himself raised hopes of a “last dance” with the Toffees in an Instagram comment on 14 May so if it was going to happen it is probably now or never.

Logic suggests it is more likely to be the latter since James isn’t many people’s idea of a Sean Dyche type of player and Alan Myers (12 July) has indicated he doesn’t believe it would happen.

The Sky Sports journalist also relayed on 19 July the club’s stance that the transfer window has not been impacted by the takeover collapse.

That position has been heavily disputed by The Esk (20 July) who insists players will have to be sold as Everton now have no other obvious route to funding the foreseeable future once the current cash to see them through the next few months runs out.

Would Colombia star fit Sean Dyche side back at Goodison?

If the latter proves to be accurate it would necessarily mean that Dyche and Kevin Thelwell are back to scrubbing around for free transfers or heavily back-loaded signings to complete their transfer window.

Now there is one impending free agent who plenty of Evertonians would love to see back however unlikely it might seem.

Clearly his potential wage demands, the manager’s interest in signing him, and any rivals for his signature could all make it a moot point.

But the club has been in uncharted territory for most of the last year and the Friedkin Group’s exit means that looks likely to continue so it is difficult to rule anything out.

In other Everton news, the “most likely” former bidder to potentially return to the table for a Toffees takeover has been named.

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