Agbonlahor Exclusive: Celtic told to ‘Skip’ signing of PL star after contact made
Celtic would be making a mistake if they were to sign Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy, according to Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Aston Villa and England striker suggested the Hoops look to younger options and should learn the lesson from Shane Duffy’s struggles in Scotland.
This site revealed last week Celtic had registered their interest in McCarthy, 30, who is out of contract at Selhurst Park at the end of the season.
Like Duffy, McCarthy is a boyhood Hoops fan who has spent the vast majority of his career in the English Premier League.
Duffy moved to Parkhead last summer on a season-long loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion but has struggled in Glasgow.
The 29-year-old scored twice and helped keep three clean sheets in his first five Celtic appearances but found himself out of the starting XI by the beginning of November.
Asked by Football Insider whether McCarthy could struggle north of the border like his Republic of Ireland teammate, Agbonlahor said: “I think sometimes players might underestimate the Scottish League and how tough it is.
“There are some tough games to play there.
“Maybe Celtic look and think ‘You know what, we need to look for younger players who are only going to get better. Not players that are the downhill slope of their career.’
“I think they might skip that signing and look for somebody else who is younger.”
McCarthy started Palace’s first four Premier League games this season but has only started one league fixture since.
The 42-times Republic of Ireland international has only played eight times across all competitions this term.
In other news, Celtic have been told to sign a winger “better than Scott Sinclair” amid a Sky reveal.