Neil Lennon Wants Quick End to Aiden McGeady Saga
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has revealed that he is hoping that Aiden McGeady’s future is settled one way or another quickly so he can plan for the new Scottish Premier League (SPL) season.
The SPL runners-up have allowed the winger to fly out for talks with Spartak Moscow over a proposed move to the Russian Premier League (RPL) side. The transfer of the Republic of Ireland international will cost Spartak a fee of around £9.5m.
If the deal goes through, Lennon will be allowed to use that substantial fee to make more new signings should he wish to do so before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. He told reporters that: "This has dragged on a bit longer than what we wanted. I'd like to think that we would get a definitive idea after this. What comes in goes back out on the football side of things, that's been made clear. As far as I know he was travelling to speak to Moscow and have a look at the club and the surroundings and take things from there.”
Although Lennon is still eager to strengthen his squad ahead of the SPL season kicking off, he does not believe that the club will need to spend the kind of money Spartak are willing to shell out for McGeady to do so. He said: “It's up to me whether I want to spend that amount or not. I think we need a couple of areas to improve the squad but I don't think it will take all that money to do that."
Struggling with injury
Lennon added that the 24-year-old McGeady had not featured much in the club’s pre-season matches or in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round game against Braga in Portugal. McGeady has been struggling with injury during the close season but managed to feature in the club’s 2-2 draw against French side Lyon in the Emirates Cup in London last weekend. However, he did not play any part in the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in the tournament after saying he had a calf strain.
"He hasn't played much part in pre-season. He didn't go to America and he only played 55 minutes in the Emirates Cup," said Lennon.
As McGeady is holding talks with his prospective new employers, he will not be able to feature in Celtic’s return match with Braga as they seek to overturn a 3-0 deficit at Celtic Park and progress to the Champions League playoff stage. Had McGeady featured in the first leg, he would not be able to play for any other club in the Champions League this season. That would have made him a far less attractive proposition to Spartak, who have qualified for the lucrative group stage of the competition by virtue of their second-place league finish last season.
Lennon also expressed sympathy for the Glasgow-born winger as he mulls over a move away from Scotland and the club where he has spent his entire career. The Parkhead boss said: "He's in a difficult situation at the minute and I've been there myself towards the end of my time at Leicester and the interest from Celtic. Your head's all over the place and I think he's in that place at the minute."
McGeady has played 252 games in total for Celtic since breaking through to the first team in the 2003-04 season, while he has scored 37 goals and provided 83 assists in all competitions. The player was part of the team, which won three league titles in-a-row under then manager Gordon Strachan from 2006-2008. He has also won two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups with the club.
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