Simon Grayson says Aiden McGeady was the first player he wanted to sign when he took charge at Sunderland.
Sunderland extended their unbeaten start to the 2017/18 Championship campaign after registering a 3-1 win at Norwich City on Sunday.
Lewis Grabban’s two goals sandwiched a fine-long strike from Aiden McGeady, sealing full three points for the Black Cats.
Simon Grayson has done a brilliant job so far in rebuilding the squad he inherited from David Moyes. He has made some fine signings, and one of them is McGeady.
McGeady, 31, was a top player at Celtic, but he failed to make a strong impression at Everton. Grayson helped McGeady rescurrect his career at Preston, and didn’t waste the opportunity to sign him for Sunderland when he took the job.
Grayson had to use all his bargaining experience to get Everton into agreeing to a £250,000 deal, and McGeady’s transfer could turn out to be one of the signings of the summer based on Sunday’s performance.
The Sunderland boss says that McGeady is a player with “immense ability” and that he has fallen back in love with the game again.
“It looks pretty good when we tried to buy him a few years ago for £9m,” said Grayson. “It’s come a long way. He’s a player that has immense ability.
“He fell out of love with the game before I took him to Preston and let him express himself. His ability is as good as anybody I’ve worked with – I said that last year.
“You saw bits today of what he can do, and he’s fallen back in love with the game. When I got the job, he was the first player I wanted to sign. It took a few weeks to sort out, but at £250,000, I don’t think it’s a bad deal.”
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