Celtic midfielder James McCarthy is reportedly weighing up his future with the SPFL champions.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from the Scottish Sun, the midfielder is “set to make a decision on whether he will stay at the Parkhead club beyond this transfer window.”
The Hoops signed the Irishman on a four-year deal as a free agent during the previous summer transfer window following the expiration of his contract at Crystal Palace.
Throughout his debut season at Parkhead, the 31-year-old only started six of the 22 games he appeared in across all competitions and could only register one assist.
This shows that even as the season wore on, the former Palace figure couldn’t force his way up the pecking order and into the team as a regular starter.
Postecoglou must ditch McCarthy
With ten league appearances to his name, McCarthy only managed to have two attempts at goal with just one of them being on target, as well as only making four interceptions and six successful tackles.
This suggests that the £14k-per-week midfielder, who has been labelled as a “big problem” by Frank McAvennie due to his injury issues, didn’t have that much of an impact in either an attacking or defensive regard.
Should Celtic get rid of James McCarthy this summer?
Yes
No
Having also been lambasted in the past as a “terrible flop” by Eamon Dunphy for his inability to play as a useful midfielder for the Republic of Ireland, this makes it hard to see why the Bhoys signed him in the first place.
While the new season could have been a turning point for him and his spell at Celtic, the fact that Ange Postecoglou did not include him in the squad for the Hoops’ recent 2-0 win over Aberdeen suggests that he is still near the bottom of the pecking order as things stand.
In addition to this, the arrival of Aaron Mooy, who was brought on as a late substitute at the weekend, could also make it difficult for McCarthy to become a regular figure in the team.
Taking all of this into account, it would be beneficial for the player and the club to get him out and move him on to another side where he’d be able to play regular football and not waste more of his time barely being a fringe player at Parkhead.
