Lucas Vázquez makes desperate bid to convince James Rodriguez to stay at Real Madrid

Real Madrid winger Lucas Vázquez has urged James Rodriguez to stay at the club amid intense transfer speculation. 

James, who has been hotly tipped to leave the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and head to the Premier League, has angered Real Madrid officials with a series of outbursts after struggling to gain regular first team football. 

When Colombia-based newspaper El Tiempo revealed that James visited the British embassy in Bogota in order to tie up work permit details, a move away from the Spanish capital seemed an inevitability. 

However Vázquez, who has seemingly taken James’ spot in Zinedine Zidane’s first team plans, has urged his ‘good friend’ to stay at the club: 

"He’s a very good friend of mine and I hope that he stays. I have a lot of affection for him and he’s a really great player,"he said. 

James arrived at Real Madrid in a £63million move from AS Monaco in 2014.