Neil Lennon confirms Aiden McGeady’s departure

Neil Lennon has revealed that Aiden McGeady is on his way to Spartak Moscow in a £9.5m deal.

The Celtic boss broke the news after today’s 2-1 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.

McGeady spent two days in Moscow last week and will return to the Russian capital tomorrow to put pen to paper on a deal that could earn him upto £60,000/week.

Lennon has been promised the full transfer fee will be made available for him to move straight into the transfer market with strengthening the club’s defence a priority.

“He was in yesterday and more or less said his goodbyes,” the Celtic boss admitted. “We’ll see how that develops over the next one or two days. I would probably think it will be Moscow.

“He’s going to go to Moscow in the next few days and get the deal finalised and that will be a relief in terms of putting the deal to bed because the sooner it’s done the better. I’ll get all the money.

“I won’t be relieved at Aiden going because I’ll be losing my best player and nobody wants to do that, but we feel it’s good money for a top player.

“Having spoken to him yesterday he seemed a lot more settled. He said he liked what he saw. I’d like to think the way he was talking, this is the club he will go to unless something happens last minute.”

McGeady has been linked with a number of Premiership sides but the only Spartak have put a firm offer to the Celtic board.

Lennon added: “From what I gather it should get done over the next couple of days. It’s not England, but you can’t always get what you want in football.

“He’s going to a big club with a decent pedigree and it might develop him further. All we can do is wish him the best.”

McGeady was expected to be in the Ireland side to face Argentina on Wednesday night at the official opening of the Aviva Stadium but will instead be in Moscow.

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni said: “We let him go and make what he must do, maybe he will go Russia but at the moment he is not with us.”

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