It should come as no surprise that James Rodriguez was keen to reunite with Carlo Ancelotti at Everton.
The Colombian star attacking midfielder has always been a big fan of the Blues boss since they worked together at Real Madrid.
Rodriguez recently spoke about his love of Ancelotti in an interview with Rio Ferdinand's Five YouTube channel.
He was discussing his move from Monaco to Real Madrid, and spoke in glowing terms about working with Ancelotti.
He said: "Real Madrid was a big dream that I always had.
"To be where great to-class players have been and I get there with amazing players, there was everyone, you know.
"I think all of them are great players and I get there with some pressure because I played well in a World Cup.
"And I think: 'Hey, I have to enjoy this, I have to live in the moment, I have to do things right.'
"So I worked with a remarkable top manager, Ancelotti.
"He's wise, he knows a lot.
"He knows how to manage teams, so I really trusted him, I had a wonderful year.
"I scored 17 goals and I notched 17 assists I think, it was an incredible year.
"When you have a lot of talent and when you know you train well on a daily basis, you eat well, you take good care of yourself, you have people that care about you, it's a lot easier for you to play on the field and do things right."
While Rodriguez was full of praise for Ancelotti, he admitted he found things at Real Madrid a little more frustrating under Zinedine Zidane.
When asked about the differences between Ancelotti, Zidane and Rafa Benitez at Real Madrid, Rodriguez revealed he had looked to leave the Bernabeu last year due to a lack of football.
He said: "They are very nice people, they are very kind.
"Everyone knows how Carlo was and how he trusted me.
"I didn't have much time with Rafa Benitez because at four months I was already out.
"With Zidane, I didn't play much in the first part because when you win things with certain people, certain players, you already trust them, right?
"So it was something that happened with him but from all three managers I learned things.
"I learned good things, bad things, and I didn't play much with Zidane."
He added: "I wish I'd left with the last three years here but I stayed this year because, let me tell you what happened, okay?
"Last summer I got a really good offer from a club, I don't want to say the name, but I could go there because I knew I wouldn't play much here.
"I knew it, so I got this offer with this club and I haven't been allowed to leave due to several issues.
"So basically I'm here this year because of the circumstances not because I wanted to be, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to play much.
"But I'm here, learning every day and hopefully, in the future, I'll be able to play more.
"I know I have talent and I believe in my daily work, so I believe in that."
Rodriguez's move to Everton is not the first time he has been linked with the Premier League.
The former Monaco star revealed that, when he was playing for Porto in 2014, he almost joined Manchester United before opting for a move to the south of France instead.
He said: "I think there was some kind of talk there.
"My manager, Jorge Mendes, has a great relationship with the club.
"We always dreamed of getting in a big club and since I was a child I always admired Manchester United.
"I always saw those teams with Rio Ferdinand together with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
"There were a lot of prodigious players and I wanted to get in there that year but it didn't happen.
"I thought I had to play for a club that wasn't so big.
"From there I went to France just before the World Cup and my plan was to go to the World Cup, have a great participation there, score goals, reach a good level and from there play for a big club.
"Then the Real Madrid thing happened."
