Sammer not convinced by James Rodriguez at Bayern Munich

Former Bayern Munich sporting director, Matthias Sammer, has said James Rodriguez lacks pace and versatility and could be easily caged by opposition players.

The Colombia international completed a two-year loan switch to the Bundesliga champions from Real Madrid earlier this month.

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 brings to the team.

“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.”