James McCarthy is someone who Celtic had been linked with for years but a move to Parkhead had never quite materialised. The Republic of Ireland international enjoyed a great career down South for over a decade, representing the likes of Wigan Athletic, Everton and Crystal Palace. But in recent years, he did not play a lot of football with fitness problems keeping him out of action at times.
As a result, he was a free agent this summer and the move to Parkhead finally happened. Since arriving though, he has not featured a lot.
Slowly but surely though, it looks like McCarthy is working his way to Ange Postecoglou’s first-team and it might not be long before he is a regular feature if he can remain fit.
He came on as a 56th minute substitute in the recent game against Real Betis in the Europa League and did well. And now, Postecoglou has provided a positive update surrounding the midfielder. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the Celtic manager said:
"“We’ve been missing significant players who will help the group when they come back.“It was good for James McCarthy to get more game time in Spain, and he’s ready to go now.”"
McCarthy could be an important part of this Celtic team
With Ryan Christie departing on transfer deadline day, Celtic do seem a bit short of options in the middle of the park at this point of time.
On top of that, Ismaila Soro has not looked at the top of his game recently. On a different day, he could have gotten a red card against Real Betis and that was the reason he was brought off so early.
With McCarthy available, Postecoglou would have another option in midfield to pick from. And at the top of his game, the Republic of Ireland star could be a regular feature in the middle of the park for Celtic.
The ability is not in question when it comes to McCarthy. It is whether he will be able to stay fit through the course of the long season. It appears we will have the answer to that question soon.