Aiden McGeady: Celtic Winger In, Milner Out at Aston Villa

Martin ONeill has strongly hinted that he is interested in bringing in his former Celtic player Aiden McGeady this summer. The Aston Villa manager is set to lose James Milner to Manchester City in a reported 24m deal and is expected to spend those funds on the likes of Robbie Keane and he may be joined by Celtics flying winger McGeady. Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has been strongly linked with the Republic of Ireland international in the past but his interest may have cooled.ONeill said this week, Theres no point in me mentioning names but, without wanting to lose players of the calibre of Milner, we would want to try to recruit some players.But, as the chairman said at the back end of last season, its probably going to be a case of having to sell to buy and thats something Im delving into at the moment.I think Aiden McGeady has the ability to play in the Premier League, without question.I had him as a kid at Celtic and played him without worrying too much about his youth.The Republic of Ireland star has had a tempestuous last few seasons after much publicised rows with former manager Gordon Strachan and goalkeeper Artur Boruc. His new manager Neil Lennon has hinted that he believes McGeady wants to leave and with a massive rebuilding job going on the funds from his sale would be put to good use. North-East clubs Newcastle and Sunderland have also both tracked the player in the past but whether they will still be keen is unsure. Even Bayern Munich have been linked in previous seasons which was confirmed by the players national coach Giovanni Trappatoni who told the Scottish Daily Mail, (Bayern) asked me what I think about McGeady because they have followed him.They wanted to know my opinion and I said McGeady is one of our most important players.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOWThe 24-year-old ! would be expected to make the transition into English football without too much fuss particularly if he were to move to Aston Villa where Martin ONeill knows exactly what hes capable of having managed him previously. Last season he made 35 league appearances whilst scoring seven goals which was his joint most productive season. He has now made 185 league appearances (147 starts) for the club and scored 31 goals.McGeady has won numerous individual and club honours in his Celtic career with much of those won under Aston Villa manager Martin ONeill. Hewon Celtics Young Player of the Year award three seasons in a row plus the clubs Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2010. McGeady also swept the board winning the SPFA Players Player and Player of the Year titles in 2007/08.The Celtic winger broke into the first team in the 2003/04 season. In his short career hes already won 7 major hours - 3 successive League titles, 2 Scottish Cups and 2 League Cups. He will expect to move to a club that will challenge for honours and with the right signings Aston Villa should be doing just that as they were unfortunate not to win a cup last season.McGeady has won praise from the likes of Irish captain Robbie Keane and his international Coach Giovanni Trappatoni as well as being singled out by none other than Barcelonas Lionel Messi as Celtics main threat prior to their Champions League clash a few seasons ago. The Argentinian had this to say, Aiden McGeady is a fast and skilful winger and someone I rate highly. We will have to be very careful with him because his movement can be special and he has a great ability to appear in goalscoring positions out of the blue. I really like the way he plays football. He is a natural talent, who can create a brilliant piece of play in the blink of an eye and I can assure you our defenders will be paying very close attention to him.The winger can play on either flank or just behind the forwards! and has already won 32 caps for his country. Despite being born in Glasgow and playing for the Scottish schools side McGeady opted to play for Ireland against his fathers wishes. He was also reportedly tracked by both Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenals youth coach Liam Brady in his youth but decided to stick with Celtic, the club hes always supported. However, it would seem McGeadys future lies elsewhere with Villa Park looking his most likely destination.Hes constantly reiterated the fact he loves playing for his boyhood club but many believed he wouldnt be able to resist the overtures of the Premier League and La liga last summer. However, he remained but with Martin ONeill ready to make his move, his long association with the club looks set to end as he moves to Villa Park. Neil Lennon may not want him to go but the funds from a likely 8m-10m deal would allow the new manager to bring in more recruits.Do Celtic fans think that McGeady is right to move to the Premier League? Is he good enough to make a big impact at Aston Villa? If you were to sell him what would be a realistic figure in todays market? Lets hear your views.
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