James McArthur reflects on his transfer window Hokey Cokey

In, out and shaken all about, James McArthur underwent the transfer window’s version of the Hokey Cokey.

Over the space of a frantic few days, the midfielder was a Wigan regular, a Leicester City star in-waiting and then finally a Crystal Palace player.

And, if it all got a bit hectic, his new status as one of the most-expensive talents in the Scotland squad that travelled to Germany underlined just how far as he come.

Only Steven Fletcher, who Sunderland paid £12-million for in 2012, commanded a bigger fee from their current club than the £7-million Wigan received for the player who burst onto the scene as a teenager with Hamilton Accies back in 2005.

“Of course it’s a lot of money,” said McArthur.“But that’s what Wigan wanted. They were after a big fee and got it.

“Ultimately any player is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them, so in that respect it is nice to get the recognition you are doing something right.

“Neil Warnock is obviously a fan if they are prepared to spend that amount of money on me.

“Hopefully I can go on and do well for him. I’d say I’m a better player now going back into the English Premier League than I was the last time I played there.

“The big thing for me is that I’m back in the top flight. That’s where every player wants to play, and I’ve been given that opportunity again by Crystal Palace so I’m determined to do my absolute best.

“They are a big club, who did so well to stay up last season. Having done that, they have started this campaign playing some great football. That is great news for me, and my hope is that I can contribute in a positive way.”

Before the calm, though, McArthur had to ride out the storm.

“Things were a bit chaotic for a couple of weeks,” the Glaswegian admitted.

“Transfer windows can be a stressful time for players, managers, directors and agents, and that was the case for me this time. The way it works in football these days is that clubs have different targets.

“Leicester had a No 1 target and I was the next man down after that. A deal was agreed for me, and it went as far as the clubs trying to work out the terms of the payment. But they never came to an agreement on that, so that’s as far as it went.

“I said a couple of small goodbyes at Wigan, but I knew there was a chance it wouldn’t go through. My agent had been speaking to them all the time. Then all of a sudden he couldn’t get a hold of them.

“So I had a wee inclination that things weren’t going as smoothly as they had been. But I don’t hold any grudges. I have moved now and that is all behind me.

“I’m just thankful Palace came in and that a deal went through in the end.”

As the 26-year-old explained, the switch went through so quickly, he didn’t even get the chance to quiz his Scotland pal, and new Palace team-mate, Barry Bannan about the prospective switch to London.

“Crystal Palace came in pretty quickly after the Leicester move fell through, and this time everything went smoothly,” he said.

“In these situations, you just try and deal with whatever comes up. I wasn’t really thinking about whether I’d end up staying in the Championship for the season.

“One of the definite bonuses for me is that Hamilton Accies got some money out of my move as well, thanks to the sell-on clause.

“They’ve started really well in the Scottish Premiership this year, and hopefully they can keep picking up points and have a really good season.”

Equally pleasing for McArthur has been the form of the Scotland national team.

While Gordon Strachan’s men didn’t manage to take anything from the game against the World Champions in Dortmund, he argues there is plenty of reason to believe qualifying for Euro 2016 is a realistic goal.

“We were very close to getting a result, and there are positives to take,” said the midfielder.

“Certainly, I felt good in that company. They are obviously good players, but you give them the respect they deserve and have a go as well. We did a lot of that, especially in the second half.

“We tried to make sure they had it in front of us rather than in between lines. We tried to limit them to getting into spaces, and I felt we did well. Generally I think we’re improving with every game that we play.

“We just need to take care of ourselves now and win as many games as possible, doing everything it takes to qualify for France 2016.

“I think we’re improving every game that we play. We were six unbeaten going into the Dortmund match and came very close to keeping that run going.

“You speak about my transfer, but that was only one of the big ones involving Scottish lads this summer.

“Robert Snodgrass went to Hull City from Norwich City (for over £6 million) and Ross McCormack joined Fulham from Leeds for lots (£11 million).

“Combined, I think these deals show our game is progressing in the right direction. There is plenty for Scotland to look forward to.”