Everton allowed Premier League rivals Crystal Palace to buy James McCarthy last summer; Roy Hodgson’s gain could be Carlo Ancelotti’s loss.
James McCarthy is proving that he is a ‘top class’ player on loan at Crystal Palace, manager Roy Hodgson has told Football London, as midfielder prepares to face his former club Everton on Saturday.
A lot has changed at Goodison Park since a Republic of Ireland international bid farewell over the summer.
But McCarthy, who was sold by Everton at a knock-down price of £3 million, might still feel that he has a lot to prove on his first return to the blue half of Merseyside.
The 29-year-old has recovered impressively from a number of injury hit seasons since moving to Crystal Palace, rediscovering the sort of form he showed during his early days at Goodison under Roberto Martinez.
And, in Hodgson’s eyes, McCarthy represents one of the most astute signings of the 2019/20 campaign.
“He’s been getting better and better,” said the former England manager.
“We’re not weak in that area of the field and it’s really good to see James McCarthy who came to us after a long absence.
“His fitness returned at Everton, but he wasn’t able to break in, and he had to do something similar here too but it’s nice to see his confidence growing and the player I persuaded the club to buy because I knew we were getting a top-class player.”
The tenacious McCarthy has started each of Crystal Palace’s last six Premier League matches and he is very likely to keep his place for Saturday’s early kick off.
With Everton suffering from a series of long-term injuries in the defensive midfield role after selling Idrissa Gana Gueye to PSG, the Toffees might be wishing they had given a former Wigan favourite one last chance by 2.30pm tomorrow afternoon.
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