West Ham can put £20m to better use than signing Everton’s James McCarthy

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Everton are reportedly open to selling midfielder James McCarthy and it appears West Ham will be at the front of the queue.

Following the wide-ranging recruitment drive of last season, welcoming players from Turkey, Germany, Greece and Italy, it makes sense for West Ham to stay a little closer to home this time around.

After all, not one of the players brought in from abroad in the summer 2016 resembles even the slightest success. Therefore, it’s perhaps not surprising that The Daily Mail claims West Ham are tracking Everton’s James McCarthy.

Unlike most of last year’s raft of forgotten flops, the Republic of Ireland international is proven in the Premier League having played almost 250 games for Wigan Athletic and Everton since arriving in England from Hamilton in 2009.

Although The Daily Mail claims that the Hammers could be forced to pay £20 million for his signature this summer – after arguably his most disappointing campaign in Everton colours. Injuries have certainly taken their toll too, limiting the 26-year-old to just seven Premier League appearances.

Ham-fisted deal?

Even at his best, however, you wonder whether McCarthy is really the style of player West Ham should be breaking the bank for. He may be much more than a tenacious midfield scrapper, blessed with under-rated passing ability and once renowned for driving runs from the centre of the park.

Nonetheless, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is hardly short of midfielders of McCarthy’s stature. Cheikhou Kouyate and Pedro Obiang both have the power and physicality to perform largely the same roles in the engine room.

And although age might be creeping up on him, Mark Noble remains one of the first names on Bilic’s team-mate. Even Edimilson Fernandes, who has played much of the season in a wider role, has the natural skill set to evolve into an impressive all-round central midfielder.

West Ham United captain Mark Noble

In a season where West Ham have lacked a fit and firing striker, lost playmaking talisman Dimitri Payet and been forced to cope with just one injury-stricken right-back, you’d think £20 million would be better spent elsewhere.