Whelan: This £20m-rated Everton player has no future at the club
By Harvey Byrne
Former Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan believes that current Everton ace James McCarthy has no future at the club.
The 26-year-old central player has played just 12 times for the Toffees in the Premier League with injuries having a heavy impact on his first season under the guidance of manager Ronald Koeman.
He is still contracted to the Merseysiders until 2020, but the Republic of Ireland international is also reportedly receiving interest from newly promoted side Newcastle with the Daily Mail claiming last week that Magpies boss Rafa Benitez wanted to revive a £20million deal with Everton for the established midfielder.
Now, ex-Liverpool man Whelan has told that McCarthy should consider a move to the north east due to not having a future at Everton, while also comparing him to former midfielder Darron Gibson.
“For all the noise between Ronald Koeman and the Ireland manager [Martin O’Neil], McCarthy has been a peripheral figure for both men,” wrote Whelan in his column for the Independent.
“So this is a big, big summer for the lad and I think he has no future at Everton.
“In many ways, his position is now almost the same as Darron Gibson and his time at Everton not dissimilar.
“McCarthy had a very good season in 2013/14 and looked like a good buy for Everton until injuries began to take a toll on the amount of time he was on the pitch.
“Like Gibson, a promising start has turned into a steady plod to and from treatment tables, physio rooms and doctor’s consulting rooms.
“In the end, Gibson had to leave to get football and his spiral downward has continued into the Championship with Sunderland.
“Realistically, McCarthy won’t get a better club than Everton so he may choose to stick it out and hope that Koeman moves on.
“Failing that, why not take a punt on Newcastle and make a pitch for the kind of reverence which the Toon delivers for its heroes?
“Football had it’s own plans for me but I would have loved to have experienced St James’ Park in full cry with a Toon shirt on.”
McCarthy is in his fourth year at Everton after signing from Wigan in the summer of 2013 for a fee of £13million.
He was a mainstay of the team under former boss Roberto Martinez and has managed to play in 126 matches in total for the club.
However, since Koeman’s appointment in the summer midfield duo Idrissa Gueye and Morgan Schneiderlin have been brought in, while Tom Davies has emerged, meaning McCarthy’s long-term future may lie elsewhere.
In other Everton transfer news, Toffees fans have reacted on Twitter to Kevin Mirallas’ soon to be confirmed contract.
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