LONDON: English Premier League (EPL) club Everton are close to making a surprise by tying Real Madrid player James Rodriguez.

The Colombian has agreed to a three-year contract offer after lengthy talks with team operator Carlo Ancelotti, The Sun reported.

It is understood that Real Madrid have agreed to accept the player’s purchase offer of an estimated 22 million pounds.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane is ready to release the player who is in the final year of his contract.

Ancelotti is indeed interested in the 29-year-old who once played under him while guiding Real and Bayern Munich.

Rodriguez has not yet arrived on Merseyside, but the relevant personal terms have been agreed and an announcement will be made soon.

He is expected to receive a salary of 4 million pounds a year during his stay at Goodison Park.

Rodriguez will be the first player tied by Ancelotti this season in an effort to strengthen the club, which ranked 12th in the EPL league last season.

Rodriguez, who was loaned out to Bayern for two seasons, joined Real in 2014 with a value of 63 million pounds thus making him the fourth most expensive player ever tied by the Los Blancos squad.