It's transfer deadline day and we're sick of it already but at least this time around there's some genuine Irish interest ahead of the golden dawn that is Euro 2016. We went into the January window knowing that there were quite a few moves that we needed to see if Martin O'Neill was to have every option open to him when it comes to selecting his squad.
Central to that was the fact that the Everton duo of Aiden McGeady and Darron Gibson would be allowed to leave Goodison Park on loan to ensure that they would have sufficient playing time heading into the summer. It's the 1st of February and neither have left yet although that should change today.
According to the Sheffield Star's Dom Howson, McGeady has already had a medical at Sheffield Wednesday ahead of a five month loan deal.
Reports that Aiden McGeady is having a medical at #SWFC tonight ahead of a proposed loan move are true. Is very close now. #starlive
— Dom Howson (@domhowson) January 31, 2016
It may not be the glamour of Sevilla but in terms of the options open to him, Wednesday may well be as good as McGeady could have hoped for. Leeds and Blackburn have also been heavily linked with the Ireland winger but with both those clubs treading water in the lower half of the Championship table, Hillsborough seems the obvious choice.
Wednesday are on the fringes of the play-offs at the moment and their recent form would suggest that they have every chance of finishing in the top six. With McGeady being the ultimate confidence player, we'd much rather see him playing in a team pushing for promotion than one which is battling to maintain mid-table mediocrity.
Sheffield Wednesday it is so. McGeady will get the minutes he needs, O'Neill will duly pick him for Euro 2016 and he'll be a very good option from the bench when called upon. However, the same can't be said for Darron Gibson.
The Derry man's chances of pushing himself into contention for this summer's tournament are disappearing quickly after reports emerged that there had been no concrete offers for his services. Like McGeady, Roberto Martinez had allowed Gibson to go out on loan in search of first team football but although he was given a chance to impress against Carlisle on Sunday, it would seem unlikely that he'll be able to force his way into O'Neill's midfield thinking with his Everton options limited and a loan deal looking increasingly unlikely.
