Wigan win race for midfielder McCarthy

By Gregg Davies
published

Wigan Athletic have won the race to sign Hamilton midfielder James McCarthy on a five-year deal. McCarthy, who was also being chased by several Premier League clubs including newly promoted Wolves, agreed terms with the Latics and passed a medical on Tuesday afternoon. The 18-year-old joins Roberto Martinez’s outfit for an initial £1.2 million, which could rise to £3 million depending on appearances.

It is a record sale for the SPL club, with the previous record - which saw Paul Hartley swap New Douglas Park for Millwall for £380,000 in July 1996, being more than trebled.

The starlet had caught the eye of Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley and Portsmouth over the summer, and had previously been linked with moves to both Liverpool and Chelsea.

However, it was the Latics who have eventually secured the services of the Republic of Ireland U21 international, much to the delight of Martinez.

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Gregg Davies
Gregg Davies

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.