Celtic have been told that they need to consider selling James McCarthy as the January transfer window nears.
The former Republic of Ireland international midfielder has not featured for a single minute under Brendan Rodgers in the Scottish Premiership this season and Dean Jones believes there could be teams looking at him when the transfer window opens.
Jones said [GiveMeSport], “It’ll be interesting to see what opportunities come along for James McCarthy in January. I certainly think we will be hearing of some links.
“He does feel like a forgotten man at Celtic right now, so I think that they have to consider what the future is going to look like and whether he’s a part of it. I think it seems unlikely right now.”
The curious case of James McCarthy’s Celtic career
A 2021 summer signing, McCarthy was one of the first players to come into Celtic in the Ange Postecouglou era on a four-year deal.
Despite making just 42 appearances for Crystal Palace in three seasons, Celtic saw fit to offer the then 31-year-old a lengthy contract.
Two seasons into his Celtic career, McCarthy has made just 27 first-team appearances. All of them are under Postecoglou.
He has not featured at all for Celtic in any capacity since Brendan Rodgers took over in the summer.
Wearing a Celtic jersey for a grand total of 801 minutes, McCarthy has averaged just over 29 minutes per game. [Transfermarkt]
At £14k per week [SalarySport], that is a seriously hefty financial outlay for one player. It is little wonder McCarthy is one player that is being tipped for a Celtic exit.
Brendan Rodgers’ verdict on James McCarthy’s Celtic career
The Celtic manager seems to have a lot of respect for McCarthy after he recently admitted that he is one that will be moving on.
Rodgers said [Glagow Live], “It’s a real shame for James because growing up he was obviously a Celtic supporter.
“I saw him a lot in the Premier League and he was a fantastic talent. He’s a great guy but sadly a few injuries and niggles have curtailed his time here so he will be looking to move on.”
No sugar-coating it from Rodgers. McCarthy’s time at Celtic certainly seems to be up. With just over 18 months left on his contract, I would imagine that Celtic wouldn’t be looking for a substantial fee, if any at all, and would just be keen to get him off the wage bill.
In other news, ‘Clearly’… Michael Stewart tells Celtic that 22-year-old player is simply not good enough