United make move for out-of-favour Madrid midfielder

Manchester United have held talks with Real Madrid over a potential £63m move for James Rodriguez, reports the Sunday Express.

The Colombia international is out of favour under new head coach Zinedine Zidane after falling out with previous manager Rafa Benitez, with the Frenchman questioning Rodriguez's attitude in training.

Despite Los Blancos set to undergo a transfer ban that will come into place at the end of the month that would deny them from signing players in the next two windows, Zidane is suposedly willing to let the creative ace depart for pastures new.

Injury has played its part, but the 24-year-old has made just seven league starts for Real Madrid this campaign and has started Zidane's two league games at the Bernabeu helm on the bench.

United have cash to burn and are in dire need of an injection of flair in their starting XI given a number of underwhelming displays this term.

A 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Saturday afternoon heaped further pressure on manager Louis van Gaal, with Jose Mourinho hoping to succeed the Dutchman at the club.

Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea last month, has made no secret of his desire to manage United and crucially, both he and Rodriguez share the same agent - Jorge Mendes - who in turn has a good working relationship with United.

Madrid would be keen to recoup most, if not all, of the £63m they spent to secure Rodriguez's services from Monaco back in 2014, which would break the club's record transfer of £59.7m used to sign Angel Di Maria from the Spanish side in the the same summer.

For more stats on James Rodriguez, click here to view his WhoScored player page