Sammer not convinced by 'limited' James Rodriguez at Bayern

The Colombian has received a warm welcome in Bavaria, but not everyone is certain Carlo Ancelotti has made the right signing

Posted Thursday, July 20, 2017 by Goal.com

James Rodriguez lacks versatility and will be easily dealt with by opposition defenders, according to former Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer.

The Colombia international completed a two-year loan switch to the Bundesliga giants from Real Madrid earlier this month after falling down the pecking order in the Spanish capital.

The move sees him reunited with coach Carlo Ancelotti, who took him to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2014, but Sammer is unconvinced by what James offers the side.

"He is a little bit limited," Sammer told Eurosport. "His variety sounds pretty interesting, but I can't really see it. He can't play on the wing, and so there is a lack of speed.

"He has a lot of creativity in his game, can move from the wing to the centre, but going to the byline - he misses speed.

"It makes sense that he is someone who plays in the centre, behind the forward. But this can also be counterproductive because of the defensive midfielder who is then focusing on him.

"If you follow him permanently, he won't have many possibilities to free himself."

James made his Bayern debut in Saturday's Telekom Cup triumph against Werder Bremen and also played in the 1-1 International Champions Cup draw with Arsenal on Wednesday, squandering five opportunities to open his account as he found goalkeeper Petr Cech in fine form.