James McCarthy joined Crystal Palace on a three-year deal in August, ending a six-year stay at Goodison Park. He’d struggled for form, fitness and playing time at Everton and needed a fresh start away from Merseyside.
The 28-year-old fell down the pecking order under Marco Silva and would have been behind Fabian Delph, Andre Gomes, Tom Davies, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Morgan Schneiderlin had he stayed this season.
But McCarthy sought first-team football at Palace and has been vindicated in his decision to switch clubs over the summer – the Republic of Ireland international has made six appearances in all competitions for Palace.
McCarthy was an unused substitute in a 0-0 draw with Everton (August 10), had 20 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United (August 18), seven minutes in a 2-1 win over Manchester United (August 24) and had 90 minutes in an EFL Cup defeat to Colchester United (August 27).
He was an unused substitute in a 1-0 win over Aston Villa (August 31), had 14 minutes in a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur (September 14), seven minutes in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers (September 22) and had 11 minutes in a 2-0 win over Norwich City (September 28).
McCarthy finds himself behind Luka Milivojevic, Cheikhou Kouyaté and James McCarthur in the pecking order, but Roy Hodgson still has a place for him.