The Daily Mail claimed over the weekend that Aston Villa were preparing a £5 million bid to sign Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy this summer.
The Eagles enjoyed a decent campaign in the Premier League this term as they finished 14th despite failing to win any of their last eight games. If Roy Hodgson’s side had picked up a few wins in those games, Palace could well have finished in the top half but it wasn’t meant to be.
Hodgson would want nothing more than his board’s backing in this summer’s transfer window. The Eagles, despite making considerable profits through player sales, haven’t quite spent big to improve their squad in the last two years.
The Palace boss agreed to extend his stay at Selhurst Park but another disappointing window will leave certainly annoy him. The Eagles need reinforcements in multiple areas of the pitch and that need may well increase if a few of their players leave.
McCarthy has been a regular for Palace this season having featured in all but five of their league games. The 29-year-old only signed for the Eagles from Everton last summer but his stay might well come to an end after just a year.
£5 million for McCarthy would be a decent deal for both parties. Palace signed McCarthy for just £3 million last year (BBC) and a profit despite an average season makes good business.
However, selling him would leave just Luka Milivojevic, Cheikhou Kouyate, James McArthur and Max Meyer in central midfield which isn’t really enough numbers.
McArthur will soon turn 33 while Kouyate and Milivojevic aren’t getting any younger. Meyer, as exciting a prospect as he was at Schalke, hasn’t quite progressed as well as people expected which really is a shame.
Palace need reinforcements in central midfield next term. However most Eagles fans aren’t too fussed about moving McCarthy on, even if it is to a direct Premier League rival.
Here’s how a few of them reacted on Twitter
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