For 15 years there has been only one question. Any Celtic fan who recognised and got a word with James McCarthy would ask him the same thing. When was he going to sign for them? When he was at Hamilton, Wigan, Everton and Crystal Palace, any return to the family in Scotland would inevitably result in the same exchange. “Every time I’ve been at home for the past 15 years fans have been asking me when I was coming,” he said. Well, not any more.
The player Celtic wanted as a teenager has joined them as a 30-year-old, with a vast body of English Premier League experience. McCarthy and Celtic has always felt like a natural fit and at last it has been realised. Celtic had a defensive midfield vacancy after Scott Brown’s departure and having come out of contract at Crystal Palace McCarthy was available and — as he has been all his life — enthusiastic.
McCarthy made his Hamilton Academical debut as a 15-year-old in 2006 and it was during his three years there that he was first said to be a target for Celtic. “At the time that was amazing to be linked with Celtic,” he said. “Obviously it wasn’t to be at that time and I moved south. At that time I wanted to come here but, for whatever reason, it never happened. You always think of that as the years have gone past. There has always been talk of it but it never really developed. When the call came a couple of weeks ago, three weeks ago, it was all go for me.
“Since I was a kid I’ve supported the club and come to the games. I had a season-book when I was a young boy so it’s a dream come true. It would have been around the Martin O’Neill time, I would have been 11/12/13, and I was going to the games before then too, with my brother. I’ve always come to the games.
“Obviously being down south I didn’t get to as many games but now and again I would come up. If we played on the Saturday and the Celtic game was on the Sunday, and I maybe had a chance of being off Sunday-Monday, I would come up. But now the hard work starts. I want to come here and make sure I do well. The club have put a bit of faith in me and I’m looking forward to repaying that.”
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That faith amounts to a four-year contract and the cold judgment Celtic had to make was on the level of investment to commit on a player who has had injury problems including a bad leg break which kept him out at Everton for 15 months to April 2019. He made 35 appearances for Palace in 2019-20 but only 19 for his club and the Republic of Ireland combined in 2020-21 and he comes to Celtic without a proper pre-season. He spent the summer as a free agent in Scotland with his own fitness regime in a public park.
“I’ve been at home up here. I’ve been running, doing my own training,” he said. Surely Celtic fans would have spotted him and put two and two together? “Where I was running was well out of the way. I always did it in the morning so I was pretty safe.
“I feel good physically. I made sure I kept myself fit because you never know when the call is going to come. I’ve been training at Lennoxtown the last couple of days so I feel good and they’re happy enough with what I’ve been doing away from the club. Now it’s just about when the manager is going to get me involved.
“To be fair, the last two years I have been fit for the majority of games, near enough them all. One way or another I haven’t been selected [under former Palace manager Roy Hodgson].”
It is unclear when he will be sharp enough for his Celtic debut but it may be a week or two yet. McCarthy has 43 caps, played 272 Premier League games in 12 seasons in England and won the 2013 FA Cup with Wigan. His experience, work-rate, competitiveness, aggressive tackling and tidy passing mean Celtic have signed a player who, at his best, was a serious asset. Ange Postecoglou needs leaders and must hope his new man, who turns 31 in November, has plenty more in the tank.
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“I’m happy with the responsibility. I’m experienced now after 12 years in England and I’ve been through a lot. I’ll do whatever I can do to help anyone. There are guys here like Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Ryan Christie and now Joe Hart, so there are a few experienced heads in the dressing room and hopefully I can add to that. I remember when I came through at 15, when I got away early from school to go in to Hamilton. There have been ups and downs but I’m now home and what more could you ask for than playing for your boyhood club?”
Coming to his spiritual home has involved a divorce of sorts. His old pal James McArthur was a team-mate at Hamilton, Wigan and Palace but he has shared a dressing room with the former Scotland international for the last time. “He’s happy for me,” McCarthy said. “He’s been winding me up on the texts. We’ve followed each other throughout our careers but I can honestly say I don’t think he’ll be coming here . . . maybe the other side of the city.”
