Everton-owned Aiden McGeady has starred for Preston this season.
Kevin Kilbane during his time at Hull City
Former Everton ace and current pundit Kevin Kilbane has told the Irish Examiner that he thinks Aiden McGeady is ‘loving’ playing for Preston North End.
McGeady, 30, struggled for first-team football with Everton last season, making just one appearance for the Toffees under Roberto Martinez before being farmed out on loan to Sheffield Wednesday.
A dismal spell at Hillsborough saw McGeady return to Merseyside, but he was immediately frozen out by new Everton manager Ronald Koeman, meaning he had to face up to life away from Goodison Park.
McGeady decided to move on to Championship side Preston North End, penning a loan deal until the end of the season on deadline day in August, and he has been thriving for the Lilywhites of late.
The Irish winger scored two long-range goals in last weekend’s 4-2 win over Brentford, and has picked up two assists in his last two games to take his record to three goals and seven assists in 20 Championship appearances.
McGeady has starred under Simon Grayson, becoming a fan favourite at Deepdale, with supporters desperate to see him pen a permanent deal with the club at the end of the season.
Now, former North End and Everton ace Kevin Kilbane, who played with McGeady for Ireland, has told the Irish Examiner that the winger is influencing every game with some ‘excellent’ displays, suggesting that he is loving playing with freedom under Grayson.
Preston North End’s Aiden McGeady and Birmingham City’s Maikel Kieftenbeld in action
“We know what Aiden is like — sometimes wide men don’t have an influence on games — but I must have been to Deepdale half a dozen times this season and he is having an influence on every game,” says Kilbane. “Now he’s scoring a few goals and creating a few goals but that only highlights the fact that all season, he’s been excellent.”
“It looks to me as if he’s been given licence to go and express himself. Simon Grayson doesn’t put too much pressure on him from a defensive point of view. He’s become a huge favourite at Deepdale. I was at the Arsenal game and it was the first time I heard the chant go around the ground. It had been coming for a few weeks and now he’s actually got a song about himself and you can see that he is loving it, relishing playing in front of a manager who has total belief in him,” he added.
McGeady’s wages could price North End out of a permanent deal, but he clearly has no future under Koeman at Everton, and is unlikely to play for the club again no matter how well he plays for Preston despite having one year left on his contract.
A permanent parting of the ways looks likely at the end of the season, and whilst other clubs may be keen, McGeady may be better off staying at Preston, where he is playing and thriving.
Do you think McGeady will ever play for Everton again?
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