English goalkeeper Alex McCarthy became Southampton’s third signing of the summer this afternoon, completing a move from Crystal Palace and signing a three-year contract on the south coast.
McCarthy only spent a year in South London; he joined The Eagles from QPR last summer but only made seven starts and fell down the pecking order, following a few poor performances.
Former Saints boss Alan Pardew appeared to have preferred Wayne Hennessey and Julian Speroni to the shot-stopper and, now that Palace have signed France’s second choice goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, the move came at the right time for McCarthy.
It appears to be a good deal for all involved – McCarthy becomes Saints’ second choice ‘keeper, making the step-up from being Palace’s fourth choice, whilst Southampton get a goalkeeper who still has age on his side and is happy to be second choice; plus the move comes with a small fee and Crystal Palace get rid of a player they no longer need.
The Reading academy graduate insists that he is ‘over the moon’ to sign for the Saints in his recent interview with the club’s official website:
I’m over the moon to join a club like this.
The club is known for producing young players and they’ve had successful seasons. There’s the Europa League to look forward to this season, so there’s going to be a lot of games.
With the stature of the club, I’m honoured to be here and I’m looking forward to getting working with everyone.
The former QPR goalkeeper also stated how much being in the Europa League and working with Southampton’s head of goalkeeping Dave Watson influenced his decision to join Saints:
Being in the Europa League is obviously a plus, and working with Dave Watson – I worked with him when I was away with England a few years ago – and I think from speaking with a few of the boys I’ve played with already before here, the things that they said and with all that mixed together it was an easy decision.
How do you think McCarthy will do at Southampton?
