James McCarthy M free agent b.1990

[SkStu]

I think he is 90 per cent certain to come


Yes, Richard is 90 per cent but I’m not a magician


the emergence of Marc Wilson and Séamus Coleman giving the side “30 per cent” more attacking capability down the right and left flanks.

Trap's grasp of statistics is effortless - a statistician to rival Tets in my humble opinion... :)


Hoolahan might add a little more through the centre, too, but the Italian didn’t quantify the impact the midfielder might have.

This is one of the funniest lines i have read in any article in quite some time! :D

[gastric]

This is becoming an unnecessary sideshow that really can't be good for team morale. All this speculation, why the hell don't they just ring him and clarify if he is going or not, and if he is not ask why. His father has been unwell in the past, could this possibly be the reason why he may not go?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/mccarthy-gave-me-his-word-he-will-travel-for-new-york-clash-tardelli-29320893.html

[rebelmusic]

Very likely could move to Everton with Martinez. Happy he's going to a bigger club, unhappy that he isn't getting experience with a new Coach

[DeLorean]

Seems a strong possibility alright, nothing too concrete here (http://metro.co.uk/2013/06/04/wigan-chairman-dave-whelan-powerless-to-stop-callum-mcmanaman-and-james-mccarthy-joining-roberto-martinez-at-everton-3827649/) but already being linked.

[Sullivinho]

Very likely could move to Everton with Martinez. Happy he's going to a bigger club, unhappy that he isn't getting experience with a new Coach

Had the same thought myself. How much would Everton be willing to spend on him though?

[tommy_c12000]

Spurs leading the chase according to Northcroft in the Sunday Times. Wigan looking for 20m . . . .

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/football/Premiership/article1274788.ece

[OwlsFan]

This is becoming an unnecessary sideshow that really can't be good for team morale. All this speculation, why the hell don't they just ring him and clarify if he is going or not, and if he is not ask why. His father has been unwell in the past, could this possibly be the reason why he may not go?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/mccarthy-gave-me-his-word-he-will-travel-for-new-york-clash-tardelli-29320893.html

Mischievous press making a story about nothing, including O'Shea and Kelly.

[Spudulika]

Mischievous press making a story about nothing, including O'Shea and Kelly.

I think it only takes reading the name of the "author" to tell you all you need to know. This is the same person who had an inside senior source giving Trap the sack some months back.

[gastric]

I think it only takes reading the name of the "author" to tell you all you need to know. This is the same person who had an inside senior source giving Trap the sack some months back.

I wondered when you would give your opinion on this Indo article Spud! You really hate it don't you?

[Crosby87]

Coyle: We dont want to sell James. For all of you that get your panties in a bunch over Goal.com, dont click the link!:p
http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3942/ireland/2013/06/18/4056684/wigan-athletic-boss-owen-coyle-hits-back-at-giovanni

[tricky_colour]

From a link on that page McCarthy's destination odds from paddy power.

Arsenal 2/1
Liverpool 3/1
Chelsea 5/1
Man United/Tottenham 8/1
Man City 12/1
Celtic 16/1

However different story else where.

Everton 4/6 1
Tottenham 5/4 6/4
Arsenal 10 16
Chelsea 20 20

So I suspect the first set of odds are out of date and the second are accurate, and suggest as one might suspect
that there is little to no chance of McCarthy staying at Wigan. Indeed I can't find any McCarthy odds on Paddy Power now.

[Olé Olé]

James deserves to be with a strong Premier League side and Everton does seem the most likely destination. Issue is, I doubt they can afford him, that is unless they do sell Fellaini. I think James has the potential to add the dynamism to his game that Fellaini boasts, even if he isn't quite as physically imposing. All in all, if they manage to get £25m for Fellaini and invest £10m or so in McCarthy, they have change to buy an actual striker. Leroy Fer has been stating Everton are still keeping contact with him but I would imagine he was instructed by his agent to drum up a bit of interest ahead of July 1st.

Coyle is a fellow Glaswegian of Irish descent. Might that count for something? There are too many factors stacked against that fact carrying weight in McCarthy's decision. If the right club comes in with a bid Whelan deems acceptable, he's off.

Of the clubs being mentioned, I'd quite love to see him at Arsenal. There isn't exactly a mountain of central midfield talent in their current squad. Actually, they're quite short of options there since Ramsay has looked, at times, limited by a lack of confidence. McCarthy alongside the class of Wilshere and experience and quality of Arteta could prove a fertile environment for him.

[BonnieShels]

It would be a dream for him to head to Arsenal. I don't want him to head to Everton now that Martinez is there.

[Crosby87]

Do you think he is Wenger type player?

[geysir]

James' price tag has increased in increments of £4m since January when £8m was bandied about. £12m in the spring, £16m before the cup final and his Ireland appearance, now a figure of £20m just raises a slight blush. Go for it Wigan.

[Charlie Darwin]

Somebody should tell Owen Coyle he had 68 pages of comments before he'd even made his international debut, his value would shoot through the roof.

[BonnieShels]

Only 68?

That would make McClean worth at least 45million then.

[tricky_colour]

Do you think he is Wenger type player?


Not anymore, he is 22 now.

[tricky_colour]

James' price tag has increased in increments of £4m since January when £8m was bandied about. £12m in the spring, £16m before the cup final and his Ireland appearance, now a figure of £20m just raises a slight blush. Go for it Wigan.

Big difference between paper talk and reality.

Much close to the first figure than the last I suspect, however we will see, or actually it will be for an undisclosed sum.

[BonnieShels]

Not anymore, he is 22 now.

Tut tut.

[geysir]

Somebody should tell Owen Coyle he had 68 pages of comments before he'd even made his international debut, his value would shoot through the roof.
There's about 80 pages on James 'will he or won't he be baptised in a competitve game'. That's not real transfer value foot.ie discussion.
I'd say there's about £16m worth.

[Crosby87]

Spurs are said to be back in for James.

[tricky_colour]

James' price tag has increased in increments of £4m since January when £8m was bandied about. £12m in the spring, £16m before the cup final and his Ireland appearance, now a figure of £20m just raises a slight blush. Go for it Wigan.


Back to £10m special half price offer.

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/spurs/transfer-talk/news/spurs-target-benteke-mccarthy_89840.html

The 22-year-old is believed to deemed worthy of a £10m price tag by Wigan.

[tetsujin1979]

Spurs are reported to have completed a deal to sign Paulinho, so the deal for McCarthy might be dead

[ArdeeBhoy]

Reckon someone like Everton would be ideal for him, if they sell Fellani.
Anyone higher/bigger, James is likely to 'just' end up being a squad player...

[tetsujin1979]

possibly grasping at straws, but it appears that the Paulinho deal to Spurs isn't complete yet, although it should be after the Confederations Cup is complete

[tommy_c12000]

Parker and Huddlestone both rumored to be leaving this summer, so Spurs will need two midfielders. Even if they get Paulinho, they may still go for McCarthy

[Serb]

It's been very common in recent years that Irish players get linked with big clubs, but the move never materializes. There was Kevin Doyle to Arsenal / Everton, Shay Given to Arsenal, Alex Pearce to Liverpool, James McCarthy to Barcelona, plus a load more I'm sure I can't remember. The only Irish player I can think of that actually made a decent move in the last few years is Gibson to Everton (mostly because it earned him first team football). That's not to blame the player, it's the way football transfer reporting works now (e.g. Liverpool need a centre back, let's link every defender under the age of 35, they're bound to sign one of them), but my point really is to pay no attention to any of the transfer rumour crap, because 99% of the time, it's rubbish.

[Junior]

McGeady to Spartak as well (3 years ago admittedly).

[tricky_colour]

Agreed, I tend to treat the rumours with a pinch of salt.
Even with McGeady, was it rumoured for long he was going to Spartak?
I can't really remember but I think it was more the case he was rumoured to be going to elsewhere, and Spartak are hardly Barcelona.

[Dunners]

McCarthy , Gibson , McGeady , Coleman - all in the same team next season mouth watering stuff
Could be a possible

[ArdeeBhoy]

As Everton battle v.relegation...

Joking, can see them being more disjointed and erratic with Martinez. Though he should play more 'exciting' football than Moyes.

[BonnieShels]

McCarthy , Gibson , McGeady , Coleman - all in the same team next season mouth watering stuff
Could be a possible

Ireland...? :)

[ArdeeBhoy]

Not with Trapp...

[BonnieShels]

Ah but he'll be gone by 15th October...

[Junior]

Ah but he'll be gone by 15th October...


Dont be silly, he'll still have the play off games in November to lead us through....

[Charlie Darwin]

Dont be silly, he'll still have the play off games in November to lead us through....
... Junior said as he crossed his fingers as tightly as could be.

[Junior]

Makes for a lovely fairytale doesnt it?

[paul_oshea]

I wanted to go travelling around South America and use the world cup as an excuse. How dare Ireland ruin my plans and inconvenience me by not qualifying.

[back of the net]

http://www.football365.com/f365-features/8826599/The-Alternatives-To-Thiago-Alcantara...


"As another player that has been linked to some of the Premier League's big hitters in the past, an apparent lack of concrete interest in James McCarthy seems bizarre up to now, following Wigan's relegation from the top-flight. If United are looking for a quality young passer of the ball, there's one on their doorstep, with only players from last season's top 6 averaging more passes per game than the Ireland international (57.6).

His accuracy of 87.3% from those attempts is extremely encouraging and the 22-year old completed 4.7 long balls and 0.9 key passes per game to boot. During his time under Roberto Martinez he's developed a real understanding of the game and also shown that he enjoys the battle, averaging 2.6 tackles per game, whilst reading play well to make 2 interceptions per match."

[tetsujin1979]

Interesting comparison of James McCarthy and Michael Carrick: http://www.eplindex.com/epl-news/35306/young-michael-carrick-market-stats-comparison.html

there's been a few overnight rumours of Spurs and Everton making bids for him, but nothing concrete

[Roberto]

I bet Martinez is sorry now he got James to sign a new contract with Wigan last year as it has upped his transfer fee. I don't think any Wigan fans expect McCarthy to be still with them on 1st September but you have to admire the way he goes about his business. No mouthing off to the press (i.e. Kone) about wanting to leave and deeming himself too good to play in the Championship. He's just quietly going about his business like a proper professional (has already scored twice for Wigan on their US tour, and one from a header :)). If Baines and/or Fellini are sold expect Martinez to use money to come back for McCarthy otherwise I'm not sure where he will end up.

[paul_oshea]

A lot of talk and nothing happening, ive been wondering this for a long time now, I doubt there are any serious contenders, his best bet would be everton, but it could be mid to lower table, or even no one at all.

[Crosby87]

If you were Spurs, would you pay 20m for him?

[Junior]

Those stats are interesting. Without comparing them to anything, 2.6 tackles per game seems like nothing!

[Serb]

It doesn't seem like a lot really, but I'd be comparing it to the level of football I play at (bottom of the barrel) where most people's second touch would be a tackle. Looks like the stats come from the same source as WhoScored.com (http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/PlayerStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013), which puts James McCarthy 29th overall in number of tackles per game (ahead of players typical described as battling midfielders such as Cheik Tiote).

[Junior]

Yeah, I just did that table but I'm unsure how/cant be ar$ed to paste a picture

Also behind Arteta at Nbr 13 with 3.2 tackles per game!!

True what you saythough. In the professional game, less loose balls, players conserving energy and looking to intercept rather than trying to tackle if there is a lower prob% of success etc..

[tetsujin1979]

Linked with Newcastle this morning: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/wigans-james-mccarthy-next-in-line-with-bafetimbi-gomis-on-verge-of-newcastle-switch-8744474.html

[Charlie Darwin]

They were mentioned at the start of the summer as well. At least his is a name Joe Kinnear can't possibly get wrong. Starts today with new signing Chris McCann on the bench and compatriot Stephen Dawson in the Barnsley midfield.

[tricky_colour]

At £20 million he must be the most expensive Championship ever!!

But I am sure he isn't.