Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers arrived at the club last summer for a second stint in Glasgow after former boss Ange Postecoglou decided to move on.
The Australian head coach enjoyed a terrific two seasons at Parkhead, winning five trophies with the Scottish giants, and did some exceptional work in the transfer market.
He made use of his knowledge of Asian football to recruit the likes of Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi, among others, whilst also landing signings such as Jota and Alistair Johnston.
However, one slip-up the now-Tottenham boss made came when he decided to make use of the British market to bring in James McCarthy in the summer of 2021.
How much Celtic paid to sign James McCarthy
The Hoops swooped to sign the central midfielder on a free transfer ahead of the 2021/22 campaign after his contract with Crystal Palace had expired earlier that summer.
Celtic signed Joe Hart and McCarthy on the same day and Postecoglou described both players as “top-class” operators, although only one of them has gone on to prove that to be true.
The former England international shot-stopper has kept 61 clean sheets in 148 appearances for the club in all competitions, and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year last season.
| 20/21 Premier League | James McCarthy |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 16 |
| Starts | 10 |
| Sofascore rating | 6.66 |
| Pass accuracy | 76% |
| Duel success rate | 51% |
| Goals + assists | 0 |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
McCarthy, as you can see in the table above, arrived at Parkhead off the back of an unimpressive season in the Premier League with Palace, with unremarkable statistics in and out of possession.
His poor form translated over to his time in Scotland and Celtic have been rinsed by the midfielder since his move to the club in 2021, with his wages going down the drain with little coming back in return.
How much James McCarthy is set to cost in wages
By the end of this season, the Hoops will have paid McCarthy roughly £2.18m in wages – £728k-per-season – on a weekly wage of £14k-per-week.
In that time, the 33-year-old veteran has only made 27 first-team appearances for the Scottish side, and has started just four Scottish Premiership games.
The former Ireland international was described as looking “lost” and not match “fit” by former Celtic man Frank McAvennie in October 2022, and that is reflected in his lack of action on the pitch – with two league outings and zero starts since the start of last season.
His £14k-per-week is more than Tomoki Iwata (£7.6k-per-week) earns at this moment in time, despite the Japanese midfielder emerging as a key player for Rodgers.
The 27-year-old ace has made 20 appearances for the club in all competitions this term and started nine league matches, which suggests that he is far more integral to the team than McCarthy, who has not played a minute of Premiership action during the current campaign.
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