The French coach is willing to consider the playmaker as part of his starting line-up but only if he proves he is good enough to take a place, as transfer rumours continue
Zinedine Zidane has promised he will sit down and talk with James Rodriguez when he returns to Real Madrid, as the Colombian's future at the club remains in doubt.
James was used only sparingly during the second half of the season, as the coach benched the star in favour of a starting midfield of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
The French football legend insisted his charge has a future at the Santiago Bernabeu, but he admits the quality in the club's squad means he will have to work to earn a first-team spot.
"James Rodriguez is a Real Madrid player. He will be back on July 26 with Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric. I will speak to him then, like I will with everybody," he signalled in a press conference.
"I won't say that James isn't part of the first team. He is important to us, sure he has played less, but I don't see him as a substitute. Every time he could play he picked him, and the same will happen this year. We have a very big squad, and it is tough to pick the team. But I will always do the same thing: play the most competitive side."
Zidane will use the carrot and the stick to motivate the Colombian: he is not a reserve, but must prove himself worthy of the first team. The same goes for his position in the transfer window, where his future is still uncertain and dependent on several factors.
The situation in 2015-16 was not ideal for either player or club. James did not see much action, but that was almost certainly a result of his less than satisfactory performances when he did take the field.
Neither Rafa Benitez nor Zizou got the best out of the former Monaco man last season, and his absence in the Champions League final is proof positive that he has lost ground in the fierce battle for minutes at the Bernabeu.
Madrid, however, will not swiftly forget what James is capable of. In his debut campaign he racked up 46 appearances, scoring 17 goals and adding 18 assists.
Even in the last season, he still managed to score seven times and set up eight further goals in his limited outings. The numbers show he still has a lot to offer the Spaniards, and not just off the field with his attractive commercial image.
That is the dilemma faced by the club at this time. If James stays, the club will be missing out on a juicy sale with no guarantee that the Colombian will find his 2015 form.
The player himself has the challenge of winning a starting spot with plenty of top names ahead of him. If they sell, meanwhile, there is little prospect of a 'galactico' taking the place of a star whose talent and personality are big assets.
Zidane, then, will keep an open mind over the future of his player. Depending on the conversation between the pair and James' performances in pre-season up to the start of the campaign in August, a better idea of his next move will appear.
He has a month to either cement his place in the Madrid squad or else find a new club, with the jury still out on what would be the best outcome for him and for the Blancos.