James McCarthy has admitted he’s uncertain about his future at Everton and doesn’t know if he’ll remain at Goodison Park next season. The 28-year-old recently returned from injury, coming off the bench in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Manchester United, but he might struggle for playing time due to the stiff competitions for places.
McCarthy has made 133 appearances since joining Everton from Wigan Athletic in 2013, but injury problems have limited him to just 832 minutes of Premier League football since the start of the 2016/17 campaign. The Republic of Ireland international finds himself behind the likes of Idrissa Gueye, Tom Davies, Morgan Schneiderlin and Andre Gomes in the pecking order, so his future may lie away from Everton.
He told Off The Ball: “It’s been very frustrating but it’s good to get back and get some minutes. It’s been a frustrating six, seven months I’ve been back and training. Making the team, making the squad it’s been a long road. I’m delighted to be back and hopefully now I can get a couple of games in before the end of the season and see what happens in the summer.
“We’ve got a big squad, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got a lot of good players and that’s part and parcel of football. You need to wait for your chance and I’ve waited since I’ve come back from the leg break. It’s been a long time but I’m delighted to be back.” McCarthy was refused a loan move away from Everton in January as Marco Silva wanted cover in midfield.
The 28-year-old added: “There was a couple of options to go on loan and obviously with not playing here I spoke to the manager and said to him I would like to go on loan and play some games because I’ve been finding it hard to get into this team. He was understanding with it but he said he didn’t want that at the time.
“Basically we waited to see what happens but I’ve got some minutes now and now I look forward to finishing the season off strongly. I’m not sure (what will happen in the future). We’ll sit there in the summer and see what happens.” The futures of Gomes and Schneiderlin might have a factor on what Everton do with McCarthy. Silva wants to sign Gomes on a permanent deal, but it’s unknown if Schneiderlin will stay as he’s been short of playing time this season.
Everton may be open to McCarthy leaving on loan if they bring in a replacement this summer.
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