HAMILTON Accies are fighting to keep hold of star midfielder James McCarthy after Celtic made a move for the teenager.
Accies manager Billy Reid last night confirmed the Lanarkshire club had received a bid from the Scottish champions, which was set to be rejected.
But agent Willie McKay claims 18-year-old McCarthy has his heart set on a move to Parkhead and as lon
g as Celtic meet Hamilton's valuation, it looks likely he will leave New Douglas Park this summer.
Reid refused to divulge the amount of the offer, which is the second bid for McCarthy in just over a week after Portsmouth saw an approach rejected. Pompey reportedly wanted to pay £500,000 to land the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year but Reid is not prepared to entertain anything less than a seven-figure bid. He said: "The club have received an offer for James. I can say at this stage that it will be rejected."
McCarthy, who only signed a new three-year contract last summer, has been on the radar of bigger clubs for many years and there were representatives from a number of English Premier League sides at Accies' 1-0 home defeat to Falkirk on Wednesday. Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Wigan, Blackburn, Sunderland, Wolves and Ipswich have all been linked with the teenager.
But McKay has claimed McCarthy would snub a move to England in order to join Celtic.
Reid added: "We're keeping James informed at all times of the situation. At this stage, he's just focusing on the final two games of the season."
McCarthy made his debut as a 15-year-old in November 2006, and Reid is confident the latest bout of speculation will not faze the player. "James has had this for two years and he'll not let it affect him," he said. "We'll sit down at the end of the season and talk about James' future."
The full article contains 327 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
