Newcastle United have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy, and despite a lack of game time, it could be a sensible move.
According to reports from TEAMtalk (via HITC), the Magpies are joined by Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Burnley in the pursuit of the midfielder this month, with the story suggesting that Palace could be receptive to offers.
The dogged central midfielder joined the Eagles from Everton for a fee of around £3m in the summer, and despite appearing 16 times for the club in the Premier League this season, he has just amounted 527 minutes of football.
Considering that he averages less than 33 minutes per match he plays for Palace, he could well be up for another move which would see him play more regularly in the Premier League, especially bearing in mind the number of serious injuries he has had to endure in recent years.
With Newcastle’s central midfield options currently consisting of Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff, Matty Longstaff and Ki Sung-Yeung, then you’d have to say that he could add a lot to that mix.
Would you take James McCarthy at St James' Park?
For sure, he would help our midfield a lot
We need to be aiming higher
Forget about midfielders - we need more goals
McCarthy is a midfielder that has a lot of strings to his bow, however, the aggression he brings to a team can be extremely useful and could suit Steve Bruce’s system.
From his matches this season, he has already picked up three yellows in just 527 minutes, averaging a decent 1.4 tackles per match, as well as 0.5 interceptions. Furthermore, in possession he is pretty solid, only making an average of 0.3 unsuccessful touches per game shows that he is good at keeping the ball.
With United’s central midfielders having to both fulfil defensive and offensive duties, McCarthy’s all-round quality could improve the state of that midfield and could be a really good option if Ki does leave in the window.
The biggest problem might be trying to get him from Crystal Palace. While he was only bought for a small fee, the injury crisis at Selhurst Park has meant he has started the last two games, and he is a regular player to come off the bench for Hodgson, who clearly has a lot of trust in him.
Therefore, even if he would be a good signing for the club, Palace are unlikely to sell him unless they get an offer which far surpasses what they paid for him. On the contrary, if the South London club are willing to sell, then he could add a lot of steel to that midfield.