Newcastle United and Bayern Munich are among those keeping a close watching brief on Aiden McGeady's situation at Celtic after it emerged that the winger had a heated row with his manager, Gordon Strachan, after last Saturday's draw with Hearts.
Another Celtic player has confirmed that an argument broke out between Strachan and the Republic of Ireland international in the dressing room on Saturday. Earlier this season, speculation of a rift between manager and player emerged after McGeady was asked not to attend a video review session of an Old Firm defeat by Rangers.
Senior Celtic figures have played down the latest rift as a "football matter which will be dealt with internally". Yet the prospect of McGeady leaving Celtic, the club he joined from school, next month cannot be discounted. McGeady had a day off yesterday, as did the rest of Celtic's squad, as Strachan and the chief executive, Peter Lawwell, discussed the matter.
McGeady and his father are now expected to hold discussions with Lawwell over the next 48 hours. A fine of two weeks' wages — about £30,000 — may be imposed on McGeady. The matter of potentially selling arguably their biggest asset is made more troublesome for Celtic given the hero status afforded to McGeady by the club's supporters.
Rated at £10m after signing a five-year contract in July, McGeady has attracted admiring glances from Newcastle since Kevin Keegan's second time in charge of the club, even if raising the necessary funds may prove a problem at St James' Park. Sunderland had an inquiry for the 22-year-old rejected out of hand in the close season but their interest is likely to have waned since Roy Keane, McGeady's former team-mate, departed the Stadium of Light.
A move to Germany may appear unlikely but McGeady is understood not to be averse to a transfer abroad. Of more immediate interest is whether he returns to the Celtic line-up for Sunday's trip to Falkirk. The second Glasgow derby of the season arrives just six days later.
Ironically, the man who opened the scoring for Hearts on Saturday, Andrew Driver, is a potential successor to McGeady if the latter is allowed to leave the Scottish champions.
