James McCarthy finally made his long-awaited return to the Premier League as Everton swooped late on to sign the Irish international.
With Marouane Fellaini moving to Manchester United, Everton moved quickly to replace the Belgian with McCarthy, and the Republic of Ireland international has signed for a fee believed to be in the region of £13 million.
Earlier in the day Wigan chairman Dave Whelan hinted that the move was a no-go because the offer was “derisory”, but perhaps good old Dave may have just been pandering as the Toffees came back with a late offer to bring the player to Goodison.
His Irish team-mate Shane Long looked like he too would be on the move, with a £5 million switch to Hull on the cards after West Brom signed Stephane Sessegnon, but the Tipp man is now staying at the Hawthorns after much speculation over his immediate future.
Staying on the local front, Stephen Ireland completed his loan move to Stoke earlier in the day in what was an eventful today for some of the Irish lads.
