WHEN he arrived in England last year, Colombian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez was billed as a luxury playmaker — a marquee signing but one who might struggle with the rigours of English football, especially in the condensed calendar dictated by the circumstances in which the 2020-21 season is being played.

Now 16 appearances into his Everton career, having played over 1,000 minutes in all competitions, many of the worries that he would not be suited to his new environment have been allayed.

A Man of the Match performance on a freezing cold Sunday evening in the FA Cup against Championship opposition was not in the James script, but this is exactly what he produced in the fourth round against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

The 29-year-old was a creative force in open play and at set-pieces. He finished the game having made eight key passes (passes leading to a shot) and two assists, with the second and third Everton goals coming from his crosses.

In Everton’s most recent game, against Leicester City, James made three tackles, the second-most of any player in the game after deep-lying midfielders Wilfried Ndidi and Andre Gomes, and was involved in 11 actions defined as “duels” by the stats collectors, with the only two Leicester players involved in more.

This type of off-the-ball work or, to assign a broader term, getting stuck in, was not supposed to be part of James’s game, and even an occasional involvement in this side of the game is more than many expected.

His defensive contributions against Leicester were partly due to Everton’s defensive set-up once they went a goal ahead against their fellow top-four challengers, and it was thanks to James that they did take the lead.

The first-half stunner from the Colombian’s right boot surprised the Leicester defence and left their goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel, rooted to the spot. 

This is partly because one very accurate description of James would be “very left-footed.” Ninety-five per cent of his passes this season have been made with his left boot, which is the highest left-foot bias of any Premier League player who has attempted more than 600 passes.

This was also the first of the 19 goals he’s scored from outside the box in Europe’s top-five leagues to be struck with his right foot.

With this goal, James once again made us question what we thought we knew about his game, and the Leicester defence and goalkeeper weren’t the only ones not expecting a shot in this manner.

“It was a surprise,” Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted after the game. “I don’t have a memory of a goal scored with his right [foot], but he did and it was really fantastic.”

In fact, this was James’s second goal of the season with his weaker foot. The other, evidently less memorable, coming in the latter stages of a 4-2 victory at home to Brighton.

Everton play their third home game in a row this weekend when they take on Newcastle tomorrow’s early kick-off. Their opponents have some entertaining players of their own, especially in the shape of Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin who between them provide work rate, speed and dribbling skill, but Steve Bruce’s side lack the guile of a player like James.

Though the unfamiliar side of James’s game can be highlighted thanks to his performances in the Premier League, this is not to say he is some kind of an all-action defender from the front or midfield workhorse, but he’s not supposed to be.

Neither is he the quickest of players, but there can be a bite to his game in certain moments which ensures he is not the type of one-dimensional, unreliable player he was labelled on arrival.

He has only missed a handful of games this season so far, but that can be said of most players in the Premier League.

In the past week alone, he has put in two 80-minute shifts in the space of four days and is likely to start again against Newcastle, making it three games in seven days.

Though his endurance and reliability can only accurately be judged across an entire season, it’s not been a bad start, and it’s a start which has gone against the preconceptions. 

His seven assists and four goals from 16 games across all competitions see him second only to Everton’s prolific goal-getter Dominic Calvert-Lewin in terms of contributions to goals.

Everton fans watching from home will want him on the pitch for every minute of every game, such is his unique playmaking talent and the entertainment he can provide.