James McCarthy was recently called up to the Republic of Ireland national team for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia, but his lack of fitness has now ruled him out of making a return. McCarthy hasn’t played for his country since October 2016 and will now have to wait until June to stand a chance of representing the Green Army.
He could fall out of favour for his country as the 28-year-old hasn’t even made an appearance for the Everton senior team this season. McCarthy has spent much of the campaign recovering from a serious leg break and wasn’t likely to be rushed back by Marco Silva. At the turn of the year McCarthy returned to the matchday squad, but he was never brought on and has since been left out of the team in recent weeks.
McCarthy clearly has to improve his fitness before he’ll be in line to make a return, but should he also consider a move away from Everton? It’s hard to see the Irishman being a regular at the heart of the midfield next season which is what he needs for the sake of his international career, so could a loan move solve his problem in 2019/20? He won’t be short of offers.