Rafa Benitez wants to sign Everton midfielder James McCarthy if he ends up staying on as Newcastle United manager, according to TEAMtalk.
The football outlet claim that the current Magpies boss is keen on signing the 28-year-old Toffees midfielder as he is braced to lose midfield duo Jonjo Shelvey and Issac Hayden.
TEAMtalk report that Marco Silva no longer sees McCarthy as part of his long-term plans at Goodison Park and that the midfielder is looking to leave as a result.
Good move for Newcastle?
Well it wouldn’t be the worst signing they could make when you consider how much experience McCarthy has.
The 28-year-old has 41 caps for the Republic of Ireland and has featured 228 times in the Premier League, so he is dripping in useful experience.
However given McCarthy recent injury problems he would be a big risk.
The midfielder, who earns £50,000-a-week at the Toffees (Source: Spotrac), has only managed five appearances in the league for Everton across the 2018/19 campaign and the 2017/18 campaign.
This is because McCarthy had a serious hamstring injury, then a knee injury before breaking his leg and being stuck on the sidelines for a worrying amount of time.
So he’ll like take time to get back to his best.
This Is Futbol rating: 4/10
Likely to happen?
Who knows, there are so many different stories coming out of the Magpies right now, you can’t be sure.
There’s question over whether Benitez will stay as his contract is set next month and yet there’s no official confirmation that he has signed a new one.
Given that TEAMtalk make the Magpies’ potential pursuit of McCarthy rest of Benitez’s shoulders until his future is confirmed, the 28-year-old is unlikely to be heading to St James Park.
This Is Futbol rating: 2/10