Journalist Paul Brown reckons that James Rodriguez remains desperate to play for Everton.
What happened with Rodriguez this summer?
Following Carlo Ancelotti's departure and return to Real Madrid, it looked likely that the Colombian would follow his former manager through the Goodison Park exit door.
There were links with an optimistic return to the Spanish capital, whilst AC Milan and Porto were both mentioned as potential destinations for Rodriguez after the Liverpool Echo revealed that Rafael Benitez was prepared to let him leave.
However, nothing concrete ever materialised, which means the midfielder stayed on Merseyside despite playing just once for Everton since April.
Rodriguez did feature in pre-season but hasn't been involved in any of the Toffees' five competitive matches this term and might have his work cut out when trying to force his way into the side after their fine start to the campaign.
The £25.2m man didn't help his personal situation when he admitted that he didn't know who Everton were playing ahead of their trip to Leeds last month.
Despite those comments on his Twitch account, Brown is adamant that Rodriguez is desperate to get back playing again.
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What did Brown say about Rodriguez?
"James Rodriguez is desperate to play. I cannot believe for a minute that James Rodriguez is sitting on a beach somewhere smoking his vape, putting his feet up thinking 'I'm not going to play this season, this is great, I'm raking in the cash'.
"He's desperate to play. He didn't go to the Copa and he's desperate to get back in that Colombia team, he's desperate to play."
Does Rodriguez have a future at Everton?
Rodriguez has hardly covered himself in glory in recent months, whilst his injury record won't exactly please the Everton hierarchy nor the Toffees' supporters.
However, Benitez has a world class footballer at his disposal, so would be crazy to not even consider bringing him back into the frame.
But his comments before the Leeds game mean he's got to repair his relationship with the Goodison Park faithful and doing his talking on the pitch is the best way to do that.