James: Who are Everton playing?

JAMEs RODRIGUEZ has cast further doubt on his Everton future after remarkably admitting he did not know who his club are playing this weekend. Everton will travel to leeds without Rodriguez, the Colombia international, who is still isolating after contracting Covid-19. He was one of five players who missed the opening 3-2 victory over southampton but hopes to return to training on Monday. How long he will remain at Goodison Park, though, is a matter of debate. Rodriguez, 30, is so disengaged with the club that he made the admission in a live stream on the digital platform, Twitch, that he was unaware of which team Everton were set to face. ‘On the weekend I will not play,’ said Rodriguez. ‘I don’t even know who Everton is playing. ‘Can you tell me please? I think it is away. Ah, against leeds. A difficult game

against Marcelo Bielsa. let’s see what happens. Hopefully they win.’ Rodriguez moved to Everton 12 months ago, primarily to play for former manager Carlo Ancelotti. He was rewarded with one of the biggest contracts in the club’s history, worth more than £11million a year but, after a bright start, his form fizzled out and he suffered with injuries. His agent Jorge Mendes is actively looking for solutions to find Rodriguez (right) a new club before the deadline and Rafa Benitez, Everton’s manager, would be more than happy to sanction his exit as it would free up opportunities for him to bring in his own players. Everton must adhere to Financial Fair Play rules and Benitez is aware there are constraints in what he wants to do in the transfer market. The former liverpool manager has targets, such as Newcastle’s sean longstaff, but is unable to move yet until sporting director Marcel Brands can offload surplus squad members. Benitez — who yesterday brought in former liverpool goalkeeper Andy lonergan as experienced cover — was non-committal about Rodriguez’s longterm prospects yesterday but a parting of the ways would suit each man. When asked about Rodriguez, Benitez said: ‘What I said before, is what I can say to you. I can understand that people want to know everything. But the situation at the moment, he is our player — until August 31. He was not available last week and he will not be available this week. ‘But, hopefully, he will be fine for the next week and he can carry on with the training sessions and we will see what happens until the end of the transfer window.’ Benitez added: ‘It is a very simple situation. The Financial Fair Play rules are there for us, for everyone, and we have to follow these rules. We have to adapt our strategy to that and, if we can get rid of players, we can bring players in. We have to be creative and find solutions the best way possible.’ Leeds v Everton, 3pm today, Elland Road LIVE on talkSPORT 2.