Offer tabled for Celtic's McGeady | Football | STV Sport
Offer tabled for Celtic's McGeady
A "big bid" has been tabled for Aiden McGeady, according to Neil Lennon, with Spartak Moscow believed to be the club behind the offer.
Aiden McGeady was left out of Celtic's Champions League game with Braga and is now subject to an offer from elsewhere. Pic: ©SNS Group
Neil Lennon has confirmed Celtic have received a “big bid” for winger Aiden McGeady, with Russian club Spartak Moscow believed to be the interested party. The Republic of Ireland international has been subject to recent interest from Spartak and has also been linked with a move to Aston Villa.
Speaking ahead of his team's participation in the Emirates Cup this weekend, Lennon was pressed on the future of McGeady, who sat out the 3-0 Champions League third qualifying round defeat to Braga earlier in the week through injury.
Spartak's technical director Evgeniy Smolencev is understood to have been in Glasgow during the week discussing an offer for the 24-year-old with Celtic officials. Whether Smolencev left having presented a formal bid for McGeady remains unclear but, in the meantime, McGeady is yet to be approached for his thoughts on moving away from Glasgow.
When asked whether there had been an offer from Spartak, Lennon replied: “You know he is, you know he is subject of a bid from Moscow,” before adding: “But he's here, he's still with us and he'll take part in this competition.
“I'm talking like he's gone, which is not the case at all. But there has been a big bid from a club on the table. There is strong interest, not just from Moscow. We believe there's interest from other clubs as well.
“He's a big player for us and he has been for a number of seasons now. He was very important to me in the run-in last season. He's a talented player, very talented player.
“But every player has his price, sometimes we can't stand in the way of that. If it's right for the club, the offer, and right for the player, then it's hard to stop these things going through.”
Whether McGeady would be tempted to switch to the Russian capital remains to be seen, with Aston Villa's potential interest likely to hold greater appeal. Nonetheless, his current manager believes he will flourish wherever he finds himself in the future.
“I think he would do well anywhere,” said Lennon. “He's a top quality player and has been for a number of years since he come onto the scene in 2005. He's a player who works really hard at his game and tries to get better at everything he does.”