Palace seal cut-price deal for McCarthy

More like £16M plus Zaha!!

£56M or so still to come in.

I'd started to get excited about Zaha, so I guess this being separate makes that less likely, but sure we can find another attacking option in next 2 days!

With Sidibe looking signed and sealed, it's just centre-back and right-side attacker left to complete the magic 5.

Another drain off the wage bill, we are slowly clearing the sick, malingerers, lead-swingers and ne'er-do-wells out of hiding. At least Palace are still talking to us, so there's still hope for the Zaha deal, but hoping not for silly money.

I'm done all things Everton for the night.

In my opinion, Silva's had doubts about his commitment to Everton, too keen to risk playing international football after recovering from injury. If reports are to be believed, McCarthy's relationship with Silva is now at its lowest point.

He was one of our key players in that 72-point season. We wouldn't have done it without him. And there was a reason everyone was looking at him after it. He's hardly played a sustained run of games since, and that was 5 years ago. He's still only 28. I think he can get back to a similar level and that he can have a few good more years. It's a gamble worth taking at that price, for a club like Palace, and it's not a bad piece of business on our side.

I wish "Jamesie" all the best, and hope he can rediscover his best form. He always seemed a good lad.

Sidibe will be another welcome addition to strengthen the cover in defence but will centre-back also be solidified in time or will they have to stick with what they have.

Our total incomings have cost a rumoured £81m so far, with our outgoings recouping £65.5m (plus a couple of extra for the Wigan boys Williams and Robinson). So once Henry and McCarthy go you’re right, we will be at pretty much zero net spend this summer, despite greatly enhancing the squad.

Still allows that extravagant X-factor purchase (Wilf?)

Decent at his best but ultimately another player gone that wasn't producing. Finally, we're being run properly.

Poor James hasn't been right for some time and had such bad luck on his last return. If the deal gets done, I wish him a few seasons injury-free.

I'm glad to see Brands clearing out players who, for one reason or another, make little, or no, contribution to the first team squad but to label them all spongers is a little unfair.

I believe he will be an astute buy for Palace. I genuinely believe he has a lot left to give at this level, maybe not at a team trying to break the top 4/6 but easily a mid-table central-midfielder.

He has been really unlucky with injuries but always put 100% in on the pitch.

Either way, the results of the medical will be interesting.

Do Crystal Palace have to give money to a 3rd party depending on the fee, I wonder – the lower, the less they have to give, or is some form of tax dodge going on – the people must be told. HMRC will be all over this if we sign Zaha for £65m now.

I wonder what Moshiri thinks of one of the family being sold. Anyway, Good Luck, James – you will always have that 72-point season to look back on.

‘Decent at his best' is a very harsh description of McCarthy's game. I actually think that he was a quite brilliant player in Martinez's first season. He zipped about like a coiled spring, breaking up play a bit like Gueye.

I always yearned for him to take the next step and improve the offensive side of his game. He was a bit too happy to play a sideways pass.

Anyway, with all the injuries, it seems he will never fulfil his potential but I hope he gets his move and shows what he can do. Good luck to him.

When you've had six recurrences of the same injury -- the hamstring -- it's incurable.

Of course it’s a risk. His game is based on grunt, no shame in that, however closing down and pressing involves a lot of sprinting, not good for hamstrings.

If McCarthy is not to breakdown the way he has previously he surely needs to modify his game? Can he and will he?

I even think this is a poor move for him too, Palace are my tip to go down.

Will the (transfer) live forum be working today?

If they won’t budge on Zaha tell them to go suck our nuts!

McCarthy is only 28, if he gets fit he is a steady good Premier League midfielder, I don’t know why we always get short changed?

Next. :-)

Any transfer fee here is an absolute steal for a player who doesn’t play and only has a year left on his contract.

Really should have got rid a couple of years ago.

Considering he is from Glasgow anyway, and I believe a Celtic supporter as a boy, it would be like a home-coming, or even Newcastle which is fairly near the Scottish Border.

Instead he is going to London, I can't quite figure that one out, unless there is some massaging of figures in the possible Wilfried Zaha deal. Which means that the Zaha deal will go ahead, well you don't agree a reduced fee for Macca on the possibility of the Zaha deal, maybe coming off?

I hope McCarthy can get going again and although he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, he’s very good at what he does, and the injuries have really blighted his Everton career.

The game has moved on, but for £3 million, it’s quite possible that James McCarthy, might be the player who gives the most value during these scattergun times?

Anyone who puts their body on line for the blue shirt deserves praise. He only ever wanted to get fit and play football.

That leg break clash with Rondon was god awful, but sums up his character he never ever pulled out of a tackle.

"IF" he can keep fit £8.5M will be a bargain for Palace

There's sure to be more surprises before the deadline tomorrow, like the old black and white TV series, where Marcel Brands has taken over the role of Superintendent Lockhart, No Hiding Place!

Oumar! we know you are in that locker!

Can't understand the negative remarks - the double leg break was horrendous for the lad and I'm sure the club had insurance.

This is a guy jettisoned for a full season when others were in front who don't have his character, love of the club or ability yet not once did he shout his mouth off about the manager or sulk.

I think it's a really clever signing by Roy and those arguing that he hasn't played for 2 years have to realise one was due to a horrendous injury but the other was due to not being fancied. From my recollection he was available for nearly all that season and Coleman was constantly praising him in the Irish media on how he was doing in training.

Palace won't be relegated as they are too organised and can also control games unlike most defensively minded teams who don't look after the ball. I feel he is perfect for their midfield and wish him all the best.

I'm sure his standards did drop last week but that is understandable from a human standpoint. The purpose of training is to prepare for match days and last season even Marco was often saying how hard he was working and would be selected as he seen fit.

He wasnt allowed to leave yet he wasn't allowed to play either which must have been frustrating for a player who isn't just about the pay check. This year against Wigan he was brought on in the 77th odd minute when kids were ahead of him so from a normal point of view his motivation wouldn't be as strong.

Even if Marco felt his attitude wasn't on point he should have understood the players situation and the loyalty he showed to the club and all his managers and not come out with that garbage.

As yet James hasn't commented and seems consistent with his character but it is Marco who is unprofessional here and had it been me I wouldn't have taken that shit.

Word for word he said ""For this match I went with other players, they worked better during the week and they are more ready to play and to help the team.”

I think the key words are "better" and "ready" as they're both ambigious especially considering English is Silva's second language. "Better" could imply a lack of effort, it could also simply mean someone else looked sharper which is not a slight. "Ready" could be related to attitude, match fitness, or again sharpness. So I don't see a golden bullet here.

Who will take Besic? Where is he? You don't even hear his name mentioned. 27 in a few weeks and 2 more years on his contract. It's possible he'll have 6-7 years at Everton without contributing anything, a terrible signing.

Personally I like James McCarthy, he was an able servant to the EFC cause whilst his fitness was good, and I wish him all the best for the future.

I wish him all the best. Never, ever gave anything other than 100%.

I think he will be a member of the second best transfer window in my time, after tomorrow.

Stunned he wasn’t included in a larger, Zaha deal. Then again, maybe he was. Time will tell.

Someone sort it out - this should be basic!!!

Where is the official information kept and why not check against that? Is it really that difficult?

That makes McCarthy's £8.5 million to £3 million look like peanuts!

But I'd bet the two deals are intertwined.

Now Palace need to do the right thing by Zaha and accept our deadline offer. £80m is a crazy amount, but if it happens it puts us on par with the 'so called' top 6 for attacking talent.

We have a much better and younger squad available now. We need to offload players who aren't going to play from the payroll. We need to continue to recoup money from sales to offset the excellent expenditure. It's great for him that another PL club is willing to give him an opportunity to play competitively at the top level and it's great that Everton Football Club did not hold another club to ransom to enable him to do so, nor were we spiteful enough (as others on this site would have been) to hold up his sale just because we have not been able to buy Zaha.

I would very much doubt that McCarthy, now our former player so let's get over him, will be in Palace's starting XI on Saturday.

Injuries, club versus country rows, devastating leg break, 18 months in the wilderness between first team and U23s. I am genuinely happy for him to get a fresh start. Palace is a nice club. I've always been treated well as an away fan. Hodgson seems like a decent sort too.

No point holding onto a squad player who has had more than his fair share of injuries over the past 6 seasons, probably spent more time on the Physio table then on the pitch so recouping some money be it £3m or £8.5m rather than letting him leave on a free at the end of this seaon.

Personally don't like all that bollox, footballers and the like claiming allegiance to play internationally because they had a pint of Guinness in a paddy bar with a street sign pointing towards Galway (145 m) and a bike with deflated tyres hanging on the wall with a wicker basket.

Because of the euro ban apparently, never realised they were affected.

Utterly underwhelming signing by Martinez who’s hardly played in the 6 odd years we’ve had him. I know some like the guy but as a footballer he was always bang average to me. A try hard water carrier and nothing else.

Nothing against him personally and hope he gets his career back on track at Palace but am I glad we’ve finally got rid.

Other than Lukaku and Barry, did Martinez sign anyone decent in his 3 years?