According to reports in the Daily Mail, Leicester City have made an enquiry for £25m-rated Everton midfielder James McCarthy.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Daily Mail says that the 26-year-old Toffees star is set to leave the club this summer having fallen behind the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye and Muhamed Besic in the midfield pecking order under Ronald Koeman.

The Republic of Ireland’s 2016/17 campaign was injury-hit but he is fit again and is interesting Foxes manager Craig Shakespeare, who is looking to strengthen in the middle of the park.

He has already signed Vicente Iborra from Sevilla but with Nampalys Mendy potentially leaving, according to the Daily Mail, he may need to bring in another midfield option.

However, the £25m asking price could deter the east Midlands outfit, as the report says it already has for Premier League rivals Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace.

How did McCarthy do last season?

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As we mentioned before the 26-year-old’s campaign was affected by injury and groin and hamstring problems restricted him to just 13 appearances in all competitions.

The Daily Mail says he missed more games than he perhaps should have after failing to give the hamstring niggle enough time to fully recover, which led to a falling out between Koeman and Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill when he was called up for his country.

Why do Everton rate him so highly?

Well, despite his problems with injury and perhaps some friction between him and Koeman over his international commitments, McCarthy is still highly-rated by the Toffees and he was regarded as one of the best in his position in the Premier League just a couple of seasons ago.

In addition, transfer prices are rising all the time and at 26 years of age and with three years left on his contract, they want to get what they feel is a fair price for the Irishman.

Are they going to have to lower their demands?

If Koeman is keen to trim his squad this summer having already brought in a number of additions, then they are probably going to have to be more lenient on McCarthy’s price tag if they want to sell the midfielder.

If they continue to demand £25m, his suitors will likely look elsewhere.

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