Saturday, January 11, 2014

Everton sign Aiden McGeady from Spartak Moscow


Everton have announced the signing of former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady from Spartak Moscow.

There had been speculation the 27-year-old Irishman would sign a pre-contract agreement with the Toffees but he will move to Merseyside immediately having agreed a permanent deal.

McGeady was paraded to supporters at Goodison Park prior to their Barclays Premier League game against Norwich.

McGeady has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Merseysiders after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

McGeady spent six years with Celtic before moving to Russia for £9.5million in 2010.

The news sees Goodison boss Roberto Martinez finally land his man having been linked with him while at Wigan a year ago.


Winger Aiden McGeady became Roberto Martinez's first signing of the January transfer window in 2014, moving to Goodison Park from Russian outfit Spartak Moscow. 

The Republic of Ireland international arrived for an undisclosed fee and penned a four-and-a-half-year deal. 

Born in Denny, Scotland, McGeady began his career with Queen's Park but moved to Celtic in 2001 while still in his early teens. 

He subsequently spent four years in the academy at Parkhead, winning the Scottish FA Youth Cup in 2003, before making a goalscoring first-team debut against Hearts in April of the following year, aged just 18. 

The following campaign he was selected for a Champions League match against Italian giants AC Milan and it signalled his emergence as a regular fixture in the Celtic side. 

A persistent knee problem temporarily curtailed his progress, but he was soon back in the first-team frame and went on to notch 37 goals in 251 appearances for the Hoops before becoming Scottish football's then-most expensive ever export in joining Spartak for £9.5million in August 2010.

In his six years at Celtic he was named the club's Young Player of the Year three times and won four Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish League Cups and two Scottish Cups. He was also voted Scotland's best player by his fellow professionals in 2008, picking up the SPFA's Players' Player of the Year prize. 

Aiden's debut for his new side came in a 2-1 win against Saturn in early September 2010 and the same month he notched his first goal in a 2-2 draw at home against FC Amkar Perm.

Such was his impressive start to life at the Lokomotiv Stadium, Aiden was named in a list of the Russian Premier League's 33 best players by the country's Football Union, their equivalent of the FA. 

In his second season he was part of a Spartak title charge, one which ended in the club finishing runners-up to Zenit St Petersburg.

His final league appearance for Narodnaya komanda (The People's Team) would come in the Moscow derby against CSKA in November 2013 before speculation of a switch to the Blue half of Merseyside began to gather pace. 

Internationally, Aiden represented Scotland Schools as a teenager but qualified to play for the Republic through his grandparents and switched his allegiance when called up by the Under-15s.

He has since gone on to amass over 60 senior caps for the nation and was part of the squad which qualified for the European Championships in 2012. He is an international teammate of Everton stars Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy and Darron Gibson.


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