If the wages can be sorted out then there's a perfect situation awaiting Aiden McGeady as we get into crunch time for Euro 2016 squad places. The Everton winger needs game time, he needs match fitness and most of all he needs confidence. Five months back at Celtic would fit the bill perfectly and judging by what Ronnie Deila has been saying, it does seem like it's a possibility.
The Celtic manager has been discussing the possibility of a return to Parkhead for McGeady and although he did suggest wages were a significant issue, it would appear that a deal is not exactly dead in the water either.
It has to be players who want to come to Glasgow and play for Celtic, like Carlton Cole.
He went down a lot in salary. We would not be able to pay the salary that the likes of McGeady are on. The difference is so unbelievably big that’s there is no chance. The wage structure would be broken 10 times if we did that.
Buying McGeady outright would appear unlikely this month but a return to Celtic on loan where he could once again show what he's capable of before performing on the big stage this summer could be absolutely ideal for everyone involved. And that's something that Deila has considered, provided there's something long term in it for Celtic.
When you get someone and then they leave in the summer it becomes a tough situation afterwards. Sometimes you can do it. If you feel you can build a relationship with the player during the time he’s on loan then maybe you can keep him longer.
The Scottish champions are not adverse to a high profile January loan arrival, a certain Robbie Keane springs to mind, and there is precedent for a move of this nature. However, according to Deila, Celtic won't be stepping in to help out McGeady, Everton and Ireland for a couple of months.
I don’t know what Dermot (Desmond) did before you’d need to talk with him about that but we’d need to have the opportunity to buy him. That’s an important thing for us.
That would seem to leave the deal up in the air somewhat but purely by the fact that he's talking about a player so openly, it would suggest that Deila and Celtic and serious about tempting McGeady back to Glasgow. This strikes us as the ball being firmly, and publicly, put into McGeady's court, take the wage cut or risk rotting in Everton's reserves ahead of the Euros.
Some may scoff and suggest that a return to Scotland is proof of his unfulfilled potential but we'd love to see him take the plunge. He's as much a confidence player as anyone that has ever played for Ireland and just getting him on a pitch would be a boost for Martin O'Neill.
