James McCarthy makes rare appearance after quiet Celtic exit | OneFootball

Former Celtic midfielder James McCarthy has been spotted at New Douglas Park promoting the Hamilton Accies 3rd kit. The Irishman appeared to be released by Celtic in the summer but there was no official communication from the club.

In an update on Twitter, Hamilton posted a picture showing McCarthy at the Championship club.

The former Ireland Internationalist had been out of the first team picture since October 2022 and it always appeared that the midfielder wasn’t the right fit for Celtic at that stage in his career.

McCarthy arrived at Celtic as a free agent from Crystal Palace in 2021. The player signed a four-year deal but after three seasons, the player’s information was removed from the club’s website and it appeared he was released – despite no official update.

It is disappointing that it never worked out for James in a Celtic shirt but he did play his part in a successful two seasons. In Ange’s second season, McCarthy was instrumental in Giorgos Giakoumakis’ late winner at St Johnstone. The player closed down a seemingly lost cause, which helped result in the Greek striker firing in the winning goal.

McCarthy may have taken up a coaching role since leaving Celtic as, without having officially retired, it appears that the player has stepped away from playing. Despite this, Transfermarkt still have McCarthy listed as a Celtic player even if the club website don’t.