When stories linking James Rodriguez with an unlikely move to Everton first started swirling about a year ago, they appeared to be nothing more than hearsay.
After all, Carlo Ancelotti, the man who signed the Colombian for both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, had just been appointed as the club's new manager. And it was only weeks before the January transfer window.
It was an easy connection to make. Of course Ancelotti, having arrived at a club with grand ambitions but struggling at the wrong end of the table, would look to improve the quality of his new side with a player he knows better than most.