At Friday afternoon's press conference ahead of Everton's game with Man Utd on Sunday, Ronald Koeman was asked about James McCarthy's situation at the club.
The Everton manager was questioned regarding rumours that the 26-year-old has asked to leave the club. Over the weekend McCarthy was linked with a loan move to Celtic in January, a deal which could become permanent during the summer.
He did not - as you would expect from a manager in a situation like this - dismiss the speculation. There was also noticeable lack of enthusiasm from Koeman when answering the question.
I don't know. I did not speak with James about his situation.
For a long time he wasn't available for the team. Even last week he had only two training sessions and this week... yes, he did train and is available for the weekend.
About the future of James, the future of other players, new players... that is not the focus I need to show at this moment.
A fortnight ago, against Swansea, McCarthy started his first Premier League game for Everton since August. It was just his fourth league appearance in all for the club this season.
Perhaps a move away from Goodison Park, be it temporary or permanent, would not be the worst thing for the Irish international.
You can watch Koeman speak about McCarthy below.
