James McCarthy has set his sights on European football with Everton
He said: “It’s such a huge club and you want to play European football, and why not? We’ve got the squad.
“The gaffer’s strengthened with a couple of loan signings and we’ve got a really good squad here. We’ll try and push on this season.”
Reflecting on his move to Merseyside, McCarthy, who could make his Everton bow in Saturday’s evening clash with Chelsea at Goodison, admits that he had endured a fraught summer as talk of a switch intensified but failed to materialise until late on in the window.
“Being linked (with Everton) had been going on for a while and it was a long, long summer to be honest,” he added.
“Everyone was asking ‘what’s happening?’ and it got a bit frustrating in the end. It looked as if it wasn’t going to happen but I’m delighted to be here.
“I enjoyed my four years at Wigan. It helped me so much and I’m thankful to them. But it’s a new chapter in my career and my life, and one that I’m really excited about.”