James McCarthy has been one of the most underused players in the last term for Everton, somewhat due to his injuries that caused him to spend a chunk of the season with the medical team at the Finch Farm. However, the Republic of Ireland midfielder has come under fire from the Toffees boss Ronald Koeman due to his arrogant behaviour that led him to run into him quite a few times throughout the last season.
Now, as the situation stands, the Merseyside club might be looking to offload the out of favour midfielder this summer and make Idrissa Gueye the first choice to share the midfield with Morgan Schneiderlin. This has reportedly irked a number of clubs from the Premier League, who are interested in signing the 26 year old Irish international for the next season, despite him being prone to injuries and missing a number of games.
McCarthy has been a part of the Toffees squad since 2013 when he moved from the now League One side Wigan Athletic, for whom he played 133 matches in his career.
After joining Everton, he made a good contribution by making appearances in 126 matches so far, out of which only 12 came in the last season. The Irish central midfielder has scored six goals in his career with the club and has assisted his teammates on ten occasions.
Among the clubs who are interested in bagging the player from Everton, the name of the former Premier League champions Leicester City is right on the top of the ladder, as new coach Craig Shakespeare looks to bring in new players who can make an impact for his side in the next season.
The Englishman has been appointed on a permanent basis, after he took the onus as the caretaker manager, following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, to guide the team out of trouble in the ending stages of the last term. He did a fairly good job helping the Foxes to avoid relegation and finish in the 11th position on the League table.
Leicester City have already been able to secure the services of one of the best defensive midfielders in the Spanish La Liga and Europe in the form of Vincent Iborra, who also served as the Captain of the former Europa League champions Sevilla in the last season. However, their interest in McCarthy might be lessened by the fact that the Toffees have put a price tag of £25 million on the Irish international for the summer. Should Shakespeare get this deal done?
