What Can Real Madrid Realistically Expect from James Rodriguez This Season?

Off the pitch, James Rodriguez hasn't quite had the start to life at Real Madrid he may have imagined when he was unveiled among much fanfare at the Bernabeu earlier this summer.

Thousands of fans filled Madrid's famous stadium; the Colombian ambassador gave a rousing, patriotic speech, and Florentino Perez grinned from ear to ear.

James had been the star of the World Cup in Brazil, finishing the tournament as top scorer, and Madrid were quite right to have been happy to have signed him.

However, a couple of factors have meant there is more pressure on the 23-year-old to immediately hit the ground running than there should be.

The first one is his price tag.

Reports in The Guardian suggest the former Porto and Monaco player cost Madrid £63 million—The Telegraph say that makes him the fifth most expensive football player of all time.

With that figure above your head, you need to be better than very good, you need to be the difference in matches.

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David Ramos/Getty Images

Secondly, the pressure has been cranked up on Madrid slightly due to the sales of midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria.

It hasn't directly led to any bad feeling towards the new signings, such as James and Toni Kroos, but it does indirectly mean they do need to fill the gaps vacated by two players who played their part in bringing La Decima to the Spanish capital.

But ignoring the miscellaneous factors, and focusing all the attention on the pitch, what can Madrid expect from James this season?

Three goals in his first eight appearances suggest he will be a real threat this season.

On top of that, his wonder strike against Deportivo la Coruna this past weekend indicates—as did several of his goals at the World Cup—that Los Blancos fans can also look forward to some serious golazo action.

Too much shouldn't be expected too soon, though, and it is much more likely that James, as Gareth Bale did last season, will improve as the campaign draws on.

It takes time for any new player to feel comfortable and adapt to life at a new club, particularly a club like Madrid that houses so many big personalities.

David Ramos/Getty Images

David Ramos/Getty Images

Ultimately, however, there shouldn't be a great deal of expectation on the young attacker's shoulders.

With Ronaldo and Bale likely to hog the limelight, as Karim Benzema has found out, it is sometimes difficult to emerge as a genuine match-winner.

And despite shining in Brazil, James' pedigree isn't close to a Ronaldo or a Lionel Messi yet.

He has been very good in spells for Porto and Monaco, in Portugal and France respectively, but those leagues are considered inferior to leagues in Spain, Italy, England and Germany, and he is yet to impress in the latter stages of the Champions League—he hasn't had the chance.

If he can even come close to matching Bale's big-game input in his first season in Spain—the winner in the Copa del Rey final and a goal in the Champions League final—Real Madrid should consider his bedding-in season a success.

Then the expectation can increase.