James McCarthy pens 5-year deal with Everton

Everton have announced that midfielder James McCarthy has signed a new five-year contract that will keep him at Goodison Park until June 2020.

McCarthy, who joined the Merseyside club two years ago from Wigan Athletic, has made 76 appearances for Roberto Martinez's Toffees, scoring three goals from a deep midfield position.

During this summer's transfer window, rumours surrounded a possible move for McCarthy, with both Manchester City and Tottenham expressing an interest in the midfielder, reports Andy Hunter from the Guardian.

Martinez, speaking today about interest in McCarthy, said: "The situation is James is not going anywhere. There are reports of a possible sale and I can guarantee that is not going to happen because he’s a player we want to build our future around and he has got a long, long-term contract, another four years, and we made a big investment in him.

“He was a big investment from the Championship when we brought him in, we want the player to be happy, and we hope we will get the positive news over the next few days - on everyone; on any player that has been mentioned that could be leaving."

The 24-year-old Scottish-born Irish international, is pleased to continue his career at Goodison Park, telling the club's official website, "The gaffer is trying to build a team and a squad for the long-term and I’m excited to be a part of that and to be a part of this team."