Celebrating his 35th birthday by scoring against Peterborough to earn us a draw on Easter Monday, Aiden McGeady has shown he is quite possibly the best player in League One, but how long does the Irish Winger have left?
Aiden has done his fair share of travelling playing for clubs like Celtic, Spartak Moscow and Everton before joining Sunderland, and that’s without mentioning his loans. So, with Sunderland pushing for automatic promotion and Geads nearing the end of his current contract it would be safe to assume the club would want the 35-year-old to sign on again next season should we be Championship bound.
IS IT A SMART DECISION?
Gaffer Lee Johnson recently told the Chronicle that McGeady still has ‘a couple years’ left in him, and his support for his player clearly shows, McGeady has played 23 games under Johnson, the joint most in the squad alongside keeper Lee Burge and captain Max Power. With Geads looking as sharp as ever and no signs of his pace severely dropping off there must be something that suggests his career is coming to a close? Well, no there isn’t McGeady has the joint most assists in the league at 12 alongside Joe Ward and George Honeyman both who are 25 and 26-years old, not to mention Ward has played seven games more than Geads whilst former player Honeyman has played 15 more games than our winger, suggesting that Aiden shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Comparing him to his squad mates, McGeady makes on average more key passes, more through ball passes and is making more dribbles than any other squad player and if the second oldest player in the squad is doing all that, then surely, it’s a smart move to sign him on again.
HOW LONG DOES HE HAVE?
Realistically, Lee Johnson is right. McGeady looks like he’s in great condition currently and that means a lot playing in such a physical league like League One. However, as we continue our long climb back to the Premier League, games are going to get more complex each week, with teams in the Championship being of huge varying qualities. McGeady currently has the ability to play in those sorts of matches, facing a scrappy team one week and then a possessive team the next, but in a couple years Geads will be 37, an age only goalkeepers usually reach. As hard as it may be McGeady will most likely retire in the next two years should he wish to renew his contract with the club.
