Celtic may have been perfect but the finances wouldn't allow it. The Championship seems like it may be the next best option but Aiden McGeady's desire to remain in the Premier League means that with less than a week to go until the end of the transfer window, he looks to be no closer to securing a move away from Everton.
Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn have been mentioned as clubs which may be able to offer the Ireland winger regular football between now and Euro 2016 but judging by what Leeds boss Steve Evans has had to say, it's the Premier League or nothing for McGeady.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Evans confirmed that the Elland Road club had been in talks with Everton over taking the 29 year old on loan until the end of the season. However, it's that move is now dead in the water as a result of the 'options' that McGeady still has in the Premier League.
I think Aiden is a young man who, from speaking to his representatives a couple of weeks ago, may have options in the Premier League. I suppose, if you're him, and you consider that you're going to play Championship football, at the head of every club in that thought process must be Leeds United, because the facts are that we're the biggest and most outstanding club in the league.
We're the big club that players look at, and probably the only club that players look at as a mid-table team and would come from the Premier League to play for us, as Liam Bridcutt did.
Whatever about Leeds being the club in the Championship that everyone wants to play for, Martin O'Neill may soon be sweating over the fact that it looks increasingly likely that McGeady may not have any club to play for between now and the summer.
He's been frozen out of things at Everton and been told he's free to find a club to help his international ambitions. However, the closer we get to February 1st, the more likely it is that McGeady could put the Irish management in an awkward position of having to decide whether or not to select him in the knowledge that he effectively turned down a loan move to the Championship.
Evans confirmed that talks with McGeady and Everton had dried up after defender Sam Byram chose West Ham over the Toffees last week. And if the Leeds manager is to be believed, it seems it may be Premier League or bust for McGeady. It's entirely possible that such a move could transpire between now and next week but starting positions at the highest level are not exactly easy to come by at the moment so for the sake of a spot on the plane to France, we may need to see the Everton man have a rethink about the Championship in the next couple of days.
