Chelsea keen on Ireland midfielder McCarthy
The Stamford Bridge club are understood to be preparing a significant overhaul of their squad and, with a relatively aged core of players, will prioritise young stars in their early 20s whose value will only increase.
A similar policy has been followed by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, with Roman Abramovich and his advisors hoping this approach helps the club comfortably meet UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations in the future.
With such criteria, McCarthy has been identified as an ideal target. Despite a three-month lay-off, the 20-year-old playmaker has made huge progress this season. He has scored three goals in 19 games with his return from an ankle injury aiding Wigan’s more assured performances since February.
A Chelsea scout has watched nearly every one of those games, with the specific mandate to monitor McCarthy. And the club’s backroom team have been highly encouraged by reports.
It is understood they believe that McCarthy’s creative abilities would not only see him easily adapt to the Champions League, but that the heightened competition would improve his talents.
There had been suggestions of a bid during the January window, but Chelsea were put off by the fee Wigan chairman Dave Whelan would have demanded in the midst of a relegation battle.
Were Wigan to go down, McCarthy would cost a knockdown price in the region of €5m to €7m.
In the event they stay up, though, the player is understood to favour at least another season under Roberto Martinez, whom he regards as a mentor.
An offer from a Champions League team, however, would prove difficult to turn down.
Martinez spoke about McCarthy in glowing terms in this very newspaper on Monday, as well as hinting at an approach from high-profile clubs.
“You can understand why countries have been fighting for him. And clubs. You’ll see that in the near future because he’s got that kind of talent. James McCarthy is someone that — potentially — can play in any team in world football. The Republic of Ireland have got an unique, world-class talent... It’s not many times that you see in a player huge tactical awareness, beautiful technical quality with both feet but then also the physicality to go with it. You look at the stamina and energy levels he’s got and the way he goes around the pitch, he’s phenomenal.”
Were McCarthy to go to Chelsea, it would be only the third actual transfer of an Irish player to a Champions League club since 2003, after Damien Duff’s move to the Stamford Bridge that year and Robbie Keane’s to Liverpool in 2008.
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