Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed claims of Everton’s interest in Isco as ‘bulls***’.
Ancelotti worked with the Spain international during his two-season spell in charge of Real Madrid and was touted to link up with the player again.
Isco’s first-team prospects at the Bernabeu have suffered this season with Zinedine Zidane calling on him for just six appearances in all competitions.
But Ancelotti insists the 28-year-old will not currently be following in James Rodriguez’s footsteps by making a move to Goodison Park in January.
“It is not true that I am behind [the rumours about] Isco,” he told DirectTV Sports Co.
“We haven’t started thinking about the team for the January market.
“So those comments are, as they say here, bulls***.”
Reflecting on Rodriguez’s recent dip in form, the Everton manager admitted that the Colombian struggled following a knock picked up against Liverpool.
He added: “James Rodriguez started very well.
“It is true after playing against Liverpool he had problems because he had a blow and difficulty in recovering.
“He played a game where he had not trained well [against Southampton] and performance has dropped for this reason.”