By Tim Stannard

James Rodriguez included in Spanish Super Cup squad to test fitness ahead of possible Everton move 

James.

James Rodriguez. 

Remember him? Plays for Real Madrid. Sometimes. When the Colombian is not injured or with Bayern Munich. 

Anyway, James Rodriguez appears to be fit and ready for action which means that two paths are now available to the misfit midfielder after being sidelined with injury since the end of October. 

James has been included in Real Madrid's squad for the Spanish Super Cup - Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema are taking rainchecks on that jaunt - to kick off a period of few weeks that could see the footballer helping to give some juice to Real Madrid's midfield in the final half of the season...or leaving. 

The latter is a definite possibility, especially with the longstanding suspicion that Coach Zizou is not exactly the biggest fan of the player. But while the current Real Madrid manager may not be a big supporter, a former one is with Carlo Ancelotti looking for winter window enforcements in an attempt to stop Everton further slipping into the void of nothingness. 

Speaking of midfield reinforcements and a familiar face might be returning to Barcelona - Arda Turan. Yes indeed, the Turkish marauding midfielder is still a Barcelona player, especially since a loan agreement was ended on Tuesday with Super Lig side Istanbul Basaksehir. 

By the way, Turan is currently serving a suspended jail sentence in Turkey after firing a gun in a hospital after a fight with a pop singer. And before judging, who hasn't done that on a big night out?

The Sports Burst live show will be all over these stories and everything else at 12PM ET. Just head to our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page or tune in on the beIN XTRA channel. 

Three countries, three cups in midweek soccer action 

This week is going to be complicated in the world of European soccer. Very complicated. 

Sports Burst is talking working a modern TV remote control to access an app off a platform off an HDMI 3 connection complicated.

There are a lot of countries and a lot of cups underway aside from the aforementioned Spanish Super Cup. Just one day after a round of the FA Cup was completed in England, the League Cup nudges it aside for the first leg of the semifinals. None other than Manchester United and Manchester City are facing off in Old Trafford. 

Pep Guardiola was asked - perhaps for a bet - on whether he would ever consider coaching Manchester United one day. "After training City, I won't train United, just as I would never train Madrid," announced the City coach, who instead mused over retirement in the Maldives, as long as they have golf courses. 

The League Cup in France is also up and running on Tuesday with Reims against Strasbourg live, live, live on beIN SPORTS. PSG are in action on Wednesday against Saint Etienne as the French team pursues another domestic treble and Neymar not punching supporters this time. 

Serena Williams begins fourth decade on tennis tour 

Tuesday has already seen Serena Williams enter her fourth decade as a senior tennis player. And win her first game. What have y'all managed to do this morning? 

Williams returned to the court after a four-month absence to defeat Camila Giorgi 6-3 6-2 in the Auckland Classic. Serena has not been in action since losing the US Open final in September 2019.

The reason why the US legend is Down Under is in preparation for the Australian Open. Qualifying for the first Grand Slam of the year starts on the 14th January despite potentially poor air quality in Melbourne due to the smoke from devastating bushfires.  

Back in the USA and one of the NFL's biggest franchises - and most underperforming by a factor of a 1000 - the Dallas Cowboys are set to appoint Mike McCarthy as new head coach. The statuesque figure of the former Green Bay Packers coach is what would happen if you asked someone to simply draw what the NFL looks like in ten seconds. 

McCarthy is expected to lead the Dallas Cowboys away from the playoffs for the next five years.