Crystal Palace Opinion: James McCarthy would be too risky an investment for the Eagles
According to the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace are set to revisit their long-standing interest in Everton midfielder James McCarthy in the summer.
The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international suffered a double leg fracture 15 months back and he has never been able to regain his spot in the team after that, though he was declared fit in September last year.
McCarthy solitary appearance of the season came as a substitute in Everton’s 4-0 drubbing of Man United at home a couple of weeks ago. The 28-year-old is no longer deemed an important squad player at Goodison Park and the Daily Mail understands that the Toffees would be willing to listen to offers.
The same source claims that McCarthy expressed his desire to move out on loan in January in order to get regular minutes under his belt following a long injury absence. That request, however, was turned down by Marco Silva, who decided to keep the Irishman at Merseyside as a back up for Andre Gomes and Idrissa Gana Gueye.
McCarthy rose to prominence with Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premiership before completing a move to Wigan Athletic back in 2009. The Irishman made 133 appearances for the Latics in all competitions before being snapped up by Everton in 2013. He was a regular for the Toffees in the midfield in his first couple of seasons at the club but a horrible injury resulted in his slip down the pecking order.
To put things into perspective, it is quite apparent that James McCarthy doesn’t have a future at Everton and a move away from Goodison Park should do him a world of good. However, it would make little sense for Palace to make a move for him in the summer given that he has hardly played first-team football over the last couple of seasons.
Whether or not he would be an upgrade on Palace’s existing midfield options is a completely different thing, but the Eagles have every reason to doubt McCarthy’s fitness levels.
With all due respect to his abilities as a player, it would not be wise for the Eagles to invest in a player who has just started just 10 Premier League games since August 2016. Moreover, Palace are already well-stocked in the central midfield department.
Luka Milivojevic has contributed with 12 goals in the Premier League this season, which is more than what Roy Hodgson would have asked from him at the start of the campaign. Cheikhou Kouyate has also been a regular in the midfield at Selhurst Park and has performed really well in a box-to-box role.
In James McArthur, Palace have a highly versatile work-horse, who can play anywhere in the midfield and has chipped in with 3 goals and 6 assists in the league this term.
Max Meyer is another technically-gifted versatile player but he has been in and out of the team due to his inconsistent run of form. Hence, it is quite clear that Palace already have enough cover in the midfield and it is difficult to see where and how James McCarthy would fit into the manager’s plans.
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Palace certainly need strengthening but they should look to bring in more attack-minded players, preferably a playmaker or a striker to bolster their attack. Having said that, the Eagles should forget about the Irishman, as he would be too risky, and perhaps, a needless investment in the summer.
