Does James McCarthy justify his £13 million price tag?

James McCarthy of Everton

Ever since James McCarthy joined Everton in early September this year, there has been speculation over whether or not the Republic of Ireland international was worth the reported £13 million Roberto Martinez spent on him.

First signs suggested yes, Martinez was right to spend the Toffees’ limited funds on the midfielder, this was down to the number of superb performances he had made for Wigan last season as the Latics went on to lift their first ever FA Cup, despite their relegation to the Championship.

However, that opinion shifted the longer he spent at Goodison Park. He spent far too long on the bench for a player who had arrived for a multi-million pound fee. Everton fans didn’t seem him filling the Felliani-shaped hole left by the Belgian’s deadline day transfer to Manchester United. But when given the chance, the former Hamilton Academical midfielder has begun to repay Martinez’s faith in his ability.

Now, Everton fans see McCarthy as a certain starter against any club the Toffees play. During their most recent fixture at Villa Park against a tough-to-beat Aston Villa side, McCarthy proved once more, why Everton and Roberto Martinez were correct to spend £13m on him. Alongside Gareth Barry, the midfielder has assumed an important role as one of the exponents of Everton’s double-pivot in central midfield.

Against Aston Villa, McCarthy showed how important he is and will continue to be to Everton’s season. He made more successful tackles (5) than anybody else on the pitch and as you can see from where those tackles took place below, you can see that they’re all stopping potentially dangerous Aston Villa attacks. It also speaks volumes that the 22-year-old made more tackles than any of his defenders, this shows that McCarthy is very effective in helping his defenders and therefore makes sure they don’t do as much work because McCarthy stops attacks before they’ve reached Everton’s defence. You can also see that the tackles McCarthy makes aren’t just in the centre of midfield – two of his five successful tackles are on the right-hand side – defending his right-back.

Another impressive statistic is the former-Wigan midfielder’s Heat Map from the game at Villa Park. As we all know, McCarthy is a very versatile midfielder in terms of where he can play in and around the centre of midfield. His heat map from this game shows that McCarthy consistently bosses the midfield and is a permanent torment for his opposition. His job is to basically stop any opposition attacks and retain possession so Everton can build attacks. He does this perfectly, as his Heat Map below expresses.

Lastly, the Irishman’s wealth of passing ability is astounding. As mentioned, one of McCarthy’s main jobs within the Everton team is to prevent any opposition attacks and to pass the ball around accurately. McCarthy’s passing ability is among the best at Everton, this is illustrated by his 88% passing success rate against the Villans on Saturday and his 85% passing success rate so far this season. The most important part of his passing is the movement and spread of the ball within the central midfield area. As shown below, there are at least 40 short, direct passes within the central midfield part of the pitch that helps to spread play and manoeuvre the ball in terms of the Toffees going forward and progressing further up the field.