What a recruitment Brendan Rodgers has proved to be at Celtic Park so far! The Northern Irishman has already handed the Hoops their first trophy of the season with a 3-0 win against Aberdeen in the League Cup final on Sunday. Under the former Liverpool manager, the Bhoys are yet to finish on the losing side in a single domestic game thus far and the aim now will be to conquer an invincible domestic treble.
ESPN claims that Rodgers is still interested in Everton midfielder James McCarthy whom he wanted at Parkhead in summer too but could not strike a deal. The Irish international has lost his starting place to summer signing Idrissa Gueye at Everton and could be on his move and Celtic are looking to use this to their advantage and want to bring him on loan at Glasgow.
A complete midfielder
McCarthy is a midfielder who has pretty much everything one could demand from a midfielder. He was a vital component in the way Roberto Martinez set up his team at both Wigan and Everton. With the focus on attack, it was upon McCarthy to do the dirty work in the middle of the park and he did that with perfection.
Blessed with a solid concentration and a brilliant ability to win the ball, McCarthy could be the box to box midfielder Rodgers is looking for.
In many ways, McCarthy is similar to Celtic skipper Scott Brown. Industrious, tough-tackling, energetic- he is a throwback to the pantheon of the orthodox box to box midfielders, exactly the kind of players who will thrive under Rodgers. Rodgers’s system at Celtic has been 4-2-3-1 and a cynical defensive midfielder does not have a place in his system. That is why a quality player like Nir Bitton has gone out of favour under the former Swansea boss.
Rodgers has used the duo of Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong on a rotational basis in the middle of the park alongside Brown this season and both have fared pretty well out there. Both of them are wingers by trade and might need to switch back to their favoured positions once Patrick Roberts returns to Manchester City in the summer with his loan deal expiring. McCarthy is still only 26 year of age and has his best days well ahead of him.
If Celtic can land him on a loan from Everton, they should try to get an option of making the move permanent. After achieving total dominance in Scottish football, Celtic should try to make it big in European football too and McCarthy can be an invaluable component in that quest.
