Brendan Rodgers has weaved his magic at Celtic in the best possible way as the Hoops are pretty much running away with the title. Celtic have had a monopoly in Scottish football for quite a long time but under Rodgers, their dominance has gone to a whole new level. They are in a position right now from where they can target to complete an invincible treble. Despite their hegemony in the domestic circuit this season, Rodgers is still looking for reinforcements which is a sign that he does not want to settle what he has started and is always looking to improve.
Celtic have already signed Kouassi Eboue from Russian Premier League side Krasnodar and Rodgers seems to regard him very highly having compared him to players like Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling who excelled under him at Liverpool. Well, despite signing a central midfielder, Rodgers still seems to be in the market for another addition in midfield as reports claim that the gaffer still wants James McCarthy from Everton who is also a target for Championship side Newcastle United.
Well, first of all, McCarthy seems like an unrealistic target keeping in mind that it will be very hard to attract him to the Premiership. He is easily Premier League quality and if there is interest, Celtic will find it hard to jump ahead of the queue.
He did not have the best start under Koeman when the Dutchman took over from Roberto Martinez. The reason behind that was his fitness problems more than his poor form. A succession of injuries has thwarted the little momentum he had built a few weeks back.
Even if McCarthy does leave Everton, he is way too good for the Premiership. Okay, now let’s come to the financial aspect of it. McCarthy would certainly command a fee which will be easily more than £10m. Can Celtic afford to spend such a big fee? I at least do not think so. On top of that, the arrival of McCarthy will limit opportunities for both in-form Stuart Armstrong and newly-arrived Kouassi Eboue.
Right now, this move seems very unrealistic even though it would be an excellent one for Celtic if they can pull it off. McCarthy is a world-class central midfielder with excellent work rate and defensive discipline. However, this seems like a dream move which won’t happen. So, better to look for things those are realistic.
