McCarthy in shock Scottish move

Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy could be set for a shock loan move to the Scottish Premier League, with Celtic and Hearts perusing an interest.

The England U21 international has heavy competition at Reading, with Australian international Adam Federici the established number one goalkeeper and Mikkel Andersen not far behind.

The Reading Post understands that the Royals are very wiling to loan out McCarthy for the season as they are not keen on him being behind in the pecking order.

The 6’4 keeper already has first team experience with the Royals as he stepped in to replace the injured Federici towards the end of last season, which saw him put in man-of-the-match performances against Leeds and Everton.

Reading have already sold goalkeeper Ben Hamer to Charlton and could be set to lose another on a temporal basis if McCarthy will be wiling to move up North.

Celtic are keen on signing a new keeper after they were unable to retain the services of Newcastle’s Fraser Forster, which has persuaded Neil Lennon to move onto the possible capture of McCarthy.