NEWS ROUND-UP:CELTIC ARE set to revive their interest in Republic of Ireland midfielder Liam Lawrence after Aiden McGeady finally completed his move to Spartak Moscow yesterday.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-year deal and he will be line to make his debut for the Russian club as soon as he is granted a work permit. That’s likely to happen in plenty of time for him to be in contention next Saturday for the game against Tom Tomsk, the Siberian outfit who currently sit one point ahead of Spartak in the Russian Premier League table.
Spartak are in eighth place, 19 points adrift of Zenit St Petersburg with around half the campaign completed. Celtic have received around €11.6 million for the winger, a record fee for a player moving out of the SPL, with the player reported to be on course to pick up wages of around €30,000 per week.
Neil Lennon has said that while he is sorry to lose such a good player, the scale of the fee makes it “a good piece of business”, for both clubs.
McGeady, who made 252 appearances for the club, scoring 37 goals and helping the Glasgow outfit to seven trophies including three league titles, said after signing that Celtic “had been a fantastic club to play for, the team I have supported my whole life and will miss so many things. However, I am looking forward to the challenge of playing for Spartak Moscow.”
Celtic are set to earmark a portion of it for the acquisition of Lawrence with whom they have been strongly linked since last season.
The midfielder has made no secret of his desire to move North and Lennon has confirmed he hopes to move on his transfer targets in the coming days now that he has funds to work with.
Among the other players that have been linked with the club is Irish international goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, who is at Coventry City where he was last year voted the player of the season.
McGeady’s departure could also present opportunities for others already at the club and former Derry City midfielder Pat McCourt has made it clear he hopes to move up the pecking order now the 24-year-old has gone.
“We’ve probably lost our best player and he is going to leave a big hole but it’s up to someone to step up to the plate and fill it,” said McCourt. “It’s up to whoever gets the shout against Inverness tomorrow. They’ve got the jersey and it’s up to them to hold onto it and I’m hoping it will be me.”
The FAI, meanwhile, has written to the Slovak association insisting they stick with their decision to hold October’s qualifying match between the two countries in Bratislava after an attempt to move the game 200 kilometres to Zilina was made yesterday.
The Uefa deadline for naming the venue has already passed and so the FAI has also sought assistance from the federation with regard to the proposal which, it says, will adversely affect both its own preparations for the team and those of supporters who have booked flights and hotels based on last month’s announcement. Clarification is expected next week.
