---
title: "Celtic: Off-field Hoops ‘mess’ could scupper McCarthy move"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-off-field-hoops-mess-could-scupper-mccarthy-move/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Celtic News"
published: "2021-05-02T05:15:58Z"
modified: "2021-05-02T05:15:58Z"
---

# Celtic: Off-field Hoops ‘mess’ could scupper McCarthy move

**Celtic’s off-field chaos may end up preventing them from signing Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.**

Sources close to [Give Me Sport](https://www.givemesport.com/1684622-celtic-exclusive-james-mccarthy-very-likely-to-join-the-club-from-crystal-palace) have provided an update on the club’s pursuit of Eddie Howe and midfielder McCarthy.

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The [report](https://www.givemesport.com/1684622-celtic-exclusive-james-mccarthy-very-likely-to-join-the-club-from-crystal-palace) claims the Hoops are an ‘absolute mess’ behind the scenes with ‘mixed messages all over the place’ coming out of Celtic Park in regards to a new manager.

A deal for Howe could still go through, but the delay in a managerial announcement is holding up the club’s proposed move for McCarthy.

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There is thought to be a slight reluctance from the Hoops hierarchy to force through a pre-contract agreement just in case Neil Lennon’s long-term successor does not want him.

McCarthy’s Palace [contract expires in a matter of months](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/james-mccarthy/profil/spieler/45333), so the club are in a position where they could make the 30-year-old an early signing ahead of the summer.

[![Celtic updates!](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2020-08-01T203924Z_1720062892_RC2TLD9CTXKL_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-TOT-BOU-REPORT-1-640x853.jpg)](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates/)

### Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if the club’s wait for a new boss could end up hurting their summer recruitment.

However, in our opinion, the Hoops are doing the right thing by refusing to sign off a deal without the new manager’s permission.

McCarthy, who is also [wanted by Newcastle](https://www.teamtalk.com/news/exclusive-newcastle-looking-beat-celtic-major-january-target), is on [£50,000-a-week](https://www.spotrac.com/epl/crystal-palace/james-mccarthy-22768/) at Selhurst Park, so you’d expect he could become one of the [club’s top earners](https://salarysport.com/football/scottish-premiership/celtic/) if he moved to Parkhead.

There could be a situation where the new man in charge doesn’t rate McCarthy, which may result in the club forking out a huge salary for a player who is hardly featuring, similar to what they have done with loanee [Shane Duffy](https://www.transfermarkt.com.mt/shane-duffy/leistungsdaten/spieler/119269) this season.

Who knows, we may still see McCarthy in Glasgow for the 2021/22 campaign, but for now, it seems as if the club’s priority is a new boss, and we feel that is absolutely the correct decision after last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

***In other news: Premier League giants tracking Celtic midfielder, find out more [here](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-transfer-rumours/celtic-tottenham-monitoring-ismaila-soro/).***