NEWCASTLE UNITED have turned their attentions to Everton’s James McCarthy as they look to push through a deal for a central midfielder before the transfer window closes next Tuesday.

Rafael Benitez has seen a number of approaches coming to nothing since the start of the month, but there is a hope that a move for McCarthy could prove more successful.

The Republic of Ireland international has only made eight Premier League appearances this season, and while he had initially been reluctant to leave Goodison Park, he has been persuaded that a fresh start could reignite his career.

Morgan Schneiderlin’s move to Merseyside has shuffled McCarthy further down Ronald Koeman’s pecking order, with the Everton boss also having signed Wolfsburg winger Anton Donkor on loan.

With Muhamed Besic expected to return from a knee injury next week, McCarthy is set to leave on loan, with Newcastle and Crystal Palace having formally expressed an interest in his services. Sunderland were also interested in the 26-year-old at one stage, but have subsequently dropped out of the running.

While Palace can offer Premier League football in the final three-and-a-half months of the season, Newcastle are hoping the lure of a promotion campaign could prove even more appealing.

With Jack Colback having been in and out of the team in the first half of the season, McCarthy would be battling with Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden for a place in the Magpies’ starting line-up.

Newcastle are hoping to sign a central midfielder and a winger this month, and while they remain involved in discussions about Andros Townsend and Modou Barrow, they have also approached Spanish side Leganes to propose a loan deal for Gabriel Appelt Pires.

The 23-year-old Brazilian joined Juventus in a €2m deal in 2012, but left to join Leganes last summer without having made a single senior appearance for the Italian side. He has spent the first half of the current campaign playing in La Liga, and has scored two goals in 18 appearances for a Leganes side that are 17th in the table.

Newcastle are hoping to sign Gabriel on a season-long loan, and are willing to discuss a potential permanent deal for the summer if a number of specific conditions are met.

The Magpies return to action in an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Oxford tomorrow, and the boss of their League One opponents is aware of the scale of the task facing his side.

Newcastle have not made the fifth round of the FA Cup since 2006, but while Benitez is expected to make a number of changes at the Kassam Stadium, Michael Appleton claims Oxford will still kick off as long-priced underdogs.

“For me, if Newcastle were in the Premier League right now, they’d be a top-ten team,” said Appleton. “They’ve got a fantastic manager, are a great club with a winning mentality and have fantastic support behind them.

“We want to make sure we can compete with them on the day. If we’re in the game after 70 minutes, we need to give ourselves a great opportunity of causing an upset. If we can, it will be one of those games people won’t forget for a long time.”

Newcastle have been on the wrong end of a number of cup upsets over the years, and the current squad accept they cannot afford to take anything for granted against an Oxford side that scored four goals at Rochdale in their most recent outing.

“We’re used to being a scalp, and that’ll definitely be the way Oxford are looking at things at the weekend,” said Karl Darlow, who is likely to find himself rested tomorrow with Matz Sels coming back into the starting line-up. “Everyone knows about FA Cup shocks, and we have to make sure we’re not on the wrong end of that.

“We just need to make sure we concentrate, and we play our football, like we have in the last few games. We need to carry on with a bit of momentum, and hopefully get ourselves in the next round.”