Former Celtic player John Hartson believes new Bhoys manager Neil Lennon would be right to cash in on under-achieving Ireland winger Aiden McGeady.
Despite equalling his best Scottish Premier League tally with seven goals last season, McGeady struggled for top form for much of the campaign as Celtic gave up their SPL title to arch-rivals Rangers with hardly a whimper.
English Premier League sides such as Birmingham City have expressed an interest in the 24-year-old and Celtic recently turned down an offer of around £8m from Spartak Moscow.
And Hartson, who was at Parkhead when McGeady broke into the first XI in 2004, reckons Lennon would be well within his rights to take the money for his most saleable asset – because he has failed to find the necessary maturity in recent seasons.
In an interview with Scottish newspaper The Herald, Hartson said, “It’s not a criticism of Aiden, I just feel we all expected him to make that step up. Everyone knows what a great talent he is. I just don’t think he’s gone on to the next level yet. I still think he does things where you think, ‘In the last three or four years, Aiden, you should have learned.’
“We all expected his performances to be going through the roof. Celtic should be getting £15m offers for him now. But they’re not. People are chancing Celtic’s arm with £8m. He is a wonderful talent but he hasn’t quite gone yet from being a boy to a man.
“He should be able to shine. Top players who come to the SPL shine, they stand out. If you are a top player you stand out at this level. But we’re not saying the SPL is too easy for Aiden, we’re actually saying he’s struggling a little bit with his form. On his day he could handle the Premiership. But not on this form.
“If Neil is thinking the same way as me, and that Aiden hasn’t taken his game on to the next level, they may cash in.â€
