Sunderland confirm McGeady signing

Thursday, 13 July, 2017 58comments  |  Jump to most recent
Aiden McGeady has officially left Everton for Sunderland after the Wearsiders confirmed his acquisition for an undisclosed fee.

The Irish international found himself surplus to requirements at Goodison Park when Ronald Koeman replaced Roberto Martinez last year and he joined Preston North End on a season-long loan where he ended up winning the club's player of the year award.

He had been expected to stay at Deepdale and join Preston permanently but he has now followed manager Simon Grayson to the Stadium of Light in a deal reportedly worth between £250,000 and £500,000.

The Black Cats also announced the acquisition of former Blues striker James Vaughan for £900,000.

 

Reader Comments (58)

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Mark Rankin
1 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:29:26
How many more headed out the door? Barkley, Niasse, Robles would be mad if after all these signings we balanced the books!
Mark Riding
2 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:31:41
Farewell my sweet prince.
Shane Corcoran
3 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:33:48
All the best, Aidan.
Chris Leyland
4 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:46:25
Jesus – transfer fees really are inflated if we have managed to get someone to pay half a million for McGeady....
Peter Mills
5 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:47:16
Excellent business.
Colin Metcalfe
6 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:47:37
So much for the £4.5M we were reportedly supposed to get! Way way off the mark...
Brian Williams
7 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:47:40
Heard it was £250,000. That's what Sunderland are saying anyway.
Don Alexander
8 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:52:23
Hopefully it was the cost of 250,000 pies. Aiden'll know.
Darryl Ritchie
9 Posted 13/07/2017 at 22:53:32
£250,000? Well, that's a new lawnmower, anyway.
Brian Williams
10 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:00:47
Seemingly he demanded a flat over a Gregg's before he'd sign.
Andy Crooks
11 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:06:16
Some unfair comments. Aiden never got a run in the side, fair enough, but I wish him well. He has a coach who obviously believes in him and I think he will do a good job.
Ian McPherson
12 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:17:15
He's worth £2 mill in today's market. Must be some add-on or slack on the Pickford deal.
Joe Ainsworth
13 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:40:32
Thank Christ we've got that utter fraud off the wage bill. If anyone needed proof that Martinez needed to be sectioned then McGeady is it.

Best of luck to James Vaughan up there, by the way; a fearless, tireless player who could have hit the heights if he hadn't had such abysmal luck with injuries.

Colin Glassar
14 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:42:26
250.000 Zimbabwean dollars? That's like 45p in real money.
Bobby Angwin
15 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:42:51
What a total waste of space he turned out to be!

Martinez legacy.

Clearly not good enough for a shite Premier League club.

Unbelievable.

Kristian Boyce
16 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:45:10
He never got a run in the side as he was unfit and no way good enough for this level.
Brian Williams
17 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:46:42
And worth every penny, Col!
Mike Gaynes
18 Posted 13/07/2017 at 23:58:08
Good to see Vaughan back in the Championship. He had a spectacular season in League One with Bury last season, after a few decent years with Huddersfield and a total bust at Birmingham. Wishing him the best.
James Stewart
19 Posted 14/07/2017 at 00:03:08
I'm assuming we paid them £250k to take him.
Andrew Keatley
20 Posted 14/07/2017 at 00:44:06
Needed to get him off the wage bill. Any fee is a bonus.
Barry Jones
21 Posted 14/07/2017 at 00:59:58
Best of luck to Aiden. Tons of ability, never had the opportunity to show it. Martinez brought him in and promptly made him a scapegoat.
Bill Gienapp
22 Posted 14/07/2017 at 02:46:45
£250k! So much for that £4.5 mil covering the Sandro transfer, lol.
Ary Lima de Moraes
23 Posted 14/07/2017 at 02:54:14
Huge wages. I'm surprised someone paid anything for him TBH.
Teddy Bertin
24 Posted 14/07/2017 at 03:13:50
Poor fee in an inflated transfer market for a player that did really well last season. Hope that's not true as there were definitely other clubs interested.

Good luck to him. Not anywhere near the standard that we're looking to have outfield next season so good to have him off the wage books.

David Ellis
25 Posted 14/07/2017 at 04:09:40
It's probably worth £4m to us in saved wages!
Rudi Coote
26 Posted 14/07/2017 at 04:50:22
Plenty of ex-blues at Wearside. Sunderland haven't got a hope in hell of getting out of that division... no hope at all.
Chad Schofield
27 Posted 14/07/2017 at 05:41:00
Nice to hear some more good news about James Vaughan.

Good luck, Aiden.

Kenny Smith
28 Posted 14/07/2017 at 07:29:15
If they've paid more than a tenner for him we've had a result.

Another 2 poor ex blues added to the Sunderland squad... haven't their fans suffered enough!

John Keating
29 Posted 14/07/2017 at 07:38:19
Last I heard, Preston supposedly offered £2 million for him so a bit surprised he went for literally nothing. Good he's off the wage bill, I suppose, but in these crazy times of inflated transfer fees still thought we'd get something for him.
Joe Foster
30 Posted 14/07/2017 at 08:14:38
Sunderland could nearly play a full ex-Everton B team.
Kevin Moorcroft
31 Posted 14/07/2017 at 10:02:19
The club is now going places The days of John Moores are back and basically it was the same in those days £110 000 for Alan Ball broke the tranfer record followed by Howard, Gordon West record for a goalkeeper

Money got us that great team in the sixties and early seventies. God knows if Bill hadn't stuck at it and got Moshiri. At least we've some clout now which without you do not survive in the Premier League any more.

UP THE BLUES. Supporter for 60 years... Get behind the boys

Good to see Wayne's goal in a friendly on BBC News – now that's a first for Everton /well done Bill.
Steve Ferns
32 Posted 14/07/2017 at 10:38:00
James Vaughan – super kid.

I'm sure in a parallel universe where he never suffered injury after injury as a teenager, he went on to be one of the world's best strikers. I thought the sky was the limit for this lad.

He was very different to Rooney, he lacked his technical ability. He couldn't score a goal like Rooney did yesterday. He didn't have Rooney's quick feet, touch, control, technique, vision or execution.

He was a very simple player. He was fast. Boy was he fast. 4th fastest 14-year-old at the 100m if I recall correctly. But it was not his speed off the ball that was the thing, he was just as fast on it. Like Andrei Kanchelskis, having the ball at his feet did not slow him down.

His next best quality was his strength. He wasn't a big lad in height, but he was stocky. His dad played rugby for Preston Grasshoppers, which is why he was living in the area that put him within Everton's radar. Vaughan had a rugby wingers build. That combination of speed and power is unusual in football.

The only other one I can think of is (the real) Ronaldo. Of course Ronaldo combined speed and power with superior technique, and quick feet in tight spaces. But power and pace go a long way in the Premier League.

Vaughan was a very determined player. We loved him because there was no such thing as a lost cause for the lad. He would chase everything, like a greyhound after a ball thrown by it's master in the park. He terrified opposition goalkeepers who were dawdling only to find they had a lot less time than they thought. His determination probably contributed to some of those injuries, as he thought nothing of going into challenges and was not scared of being kicked.

Perhaps he did not have the best shot on him, but he did know where the goal was. His minutes per goal for Everton was better than Lukaku. He scored a lot of goals for someone who really barely played for us. Like Kev Campbell, if the ball was pinging around in the box, you could bet Vaughan would get himself in position to have the ball and if he did, the ball would be in the back of the net.

I have always followed the lad's progress. But it is difficult to watch games of him at that level, and to be frank, I can't actually be bothered! But it's nice to keep an eye out, raise a smile as he bags a load of goals and shows signs of being injury free. He must be about 28 now. I would be interested to see what remains of that searing pace, and no doubt he still has his power and determination.

All the best James, I hope you fire Sunderland back to the Premier League with their side of ex-blues, and get one last chance to show your stuff on the big stage.

Dave Abrahams
33 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:04:18
Steve Fearns (32) nice tribute and write up Steve, couldn't dd much to that only I think he is still the youngest player to score a goal in the Premier League.

Best of luck James and wishing you freedom from injuries for the rest of your career.

Dermot Byrne
34 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:09:59
I also really liked Vaughan. He was really exciting. Hope he does well this season and next year a PL club takes him on. Always recall I liked him more than the play from Anichebe.
Brian Williams
35 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:14:35
Steve (#32).

I think he's 30 now mate. Nice piece. Really felt for him with his bad luck over injuries.

More of a shame as he's a really nice fella too. There was no "big I am" about him even when he was a youngster on the scene. Good luck to the lad.

Ernie Baywood
36 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:20:48
Best of luck to James Vaughan. Very talented and honest to a fault... literally. If he hadn't been the trier he was then he wouldn't have suffered some of the injuries he did.

Incredibly unlucky lad. Who severs an artery in their ankle? Has that ever happened in a match before?

Good on him for fighting for his career, though I'd expect nothing less of him. Could have been a seriously good top level player.

McGeady... well he never did much wrong as an individual. Just didn't work out for him and probably wasn't quite up to scratch. Hope he enjoys a swansong.

Erik Dols
37 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:28:15
Nice piece Steve. Like all of you I felt the same about Vaughan and was sure he would score 20+ goals a season for years to come. A really nice lad and had that certain thing that some great strikers have, the ability to be in the right place, the determination to go for that seemingly lost ball. Ian Wright, Van Nistelrooy, Inzaghi all had it to a certain extent. If only for all those injuries...
Daniel Lim
38 Posted 14/07/2017 at 11:37:50
Dave @33,

That goal against Crystal Palace!

Thought he would be going places.

James Ebden
39 Posted 14/07/2017 at 12:28:52
James Vaughan was a great player. That severed artery came just as he was settling into a nice run in the side and starting to show his full potential. Sadly he never quite got back into a solid starting position, coupled with niggling injuries and he just faded away. Nice to see his career has carried on and he is still finding the net.

That McGeady fee must surely be wrong. £250k for a player in the Championship is very low, especially when there have been far higher official bids made. Must be some add-ons, or sweeteners elsewhere.

Liam Reilly
40 Posted 14/07/2017 at 12:29:07
Sunderland really are our feeder club at this time eh?

Best of luck Aiden (who I've never hear badmouth the club even when it was clear his chance had gone) and James Vaughan who I always rated but, as stated above, had awful luck with injuries because he was almost too willing to impress.

Mike Gaynes
41 Posted 14/07/2017 at 14:06:20
Actually, James Vaughan turned 29 years old today.

Happy Birthday, lad! You got a new club for your birthday.

And yes, he is still the Premier League's youngest scorer ever -- 16 years, 271 days.

Only started eight games for us, maybe 60 appearances overall, and 8 goals I believe. I can't agree with some here that he'd have been a top player and 20-goal scorer because there simply wasn't much skill there, or much of a shot either. But my, oh my... all that pace... he certainly was fun to watch.

Christopher Timmins
42 Posted 14/07/2017 at 14:06:37
Best of luck at the Stadium of Light Aiden.
Steve Ferns
43 Posted 14/07/2017 at 14:10:53
He came off the bench to turn a game against Chelsea, Mike. Forget if it was a win or a draw. Probably a draw.

Anyway, we were getting battered in a typical Moyes performance and Vaughany came on and got at the back four and didn't allow them to rest on the ball. Think he scored or got an assist as suddenly we were dangerous on the break.

Maybe he was lacking in terms pure skill, but he knew where the goal was, he was fast, he was brave, and he never ever gave up.

Peter Mills
44 Posted 14/07/2017 at 16:31:30
Let's not forget James Vaughan showing his mettle by scoring one of those 5 penalties against Man Utd at Wembley. Good luck to him.
Dave Abrahams
45 Posted 14/07/2017 at 17:13:48
I think he has gone to Sunderland so cheaply because he was due a pay-off from Everton to compensate him for the 12 months he still had left on his contract, so it looks like Sunderland will take that up and just give Everton a nominal fee.
Kristian Boyce
46 Posted 14/07/2017 at 17:43:24
The biggest shock of this is that James Vaughan is 29?!?! How did those 13 years go past so quickly?

Really happy for him that he's finally got a good move at his peak time of his career. I really liked him as a young player and thought he would have made it at the top, unfortunately injuries held him back. He's earned the move from working hard in the lower leagues over the last few years.

Probably a good example for other young players who get cut from Premier League teams at an early age. Most disappear to obscurity but he's stuck at it, even with the many injury setbacks he's had.

Jeff Armstrong
47 Posted 14/07/2017 at 18:33:26
So the fee we got for McGeady will cover Rooney's wages till the end of next week...

Good luck to James Vaughan, pity he couldn't have stayed at Huddersfield, he'd be back in the Premier League now, hope it works out at Sunderland, there's a few familiar faces to help him settle in.

Ian Bennett
48 Posted 14/07/2017 at 20:01:43
I remember Vaughan scoring against Palace on his debut (youngest all time goal scorer?). He did a diving tackle/launch after about 2 seconds from the main stand and landed near the Bullens – really lucky not to get sent off in a world record.

I really liked him, and was gutted for him that for those injuries. Had so much more ability and heart than the more successful Big Victor.

Andy Meighan
49 Posted 14/07/2017 at 22:13:18
Kevin (#31)... supporter for 60 years – but talking the biggest load of shit I've read for 50.

Don't you realise the teams above us will and already have spent? The days of Sir John Moores have gone and ain't coming back.

William Cartwright
50 Posted 15/07/2017 at 07:53:05
The Sunderland - Everton exchange program has been working in overdrive for the last few seasons; Pickford, Rodwell, Anichebe, Oviedo, Gibson, Pienaar, McGeady, Galloway, Browning, and indirectly James Vaughan (the fastest player running with the ball I have ever seen). That would be a full team if you included Moyes!

I really hope James has a blast of a season, and Sunderland return to the Premier League, their long-suffering fans deserve it.

Thomas Surgenor
51 Posted 15/07/2017 at 08:16:46
William (#50)

You left out Lescott.

Kev Johnson
52 Posted 15/07/2017 at 10:13:35
All the very best to the lad, I hope it works out for him up there.
James Marshall
53 Posted 15/07/2017 at 22:42:16
You have to feel for Sunderland supporters at times like this.
Brian Hennessy
54 Posted 15/07/2017 at 22:53:51
Andy (#49),

That's a bit over the top and certainly no way to talk to a fellow Everton supporter.

We are all entitled to our views, especially someone like Kevin (#31) who has supported our club for six decades through thick and thin.

John Smith
55 Posted 16/07/2017 at 08:29:38
The £2 million amount heard could be wrong. But if its right, maybe they wanted us to supplant his wages. Its better to just get rid of him for a nominal fee, and take £45k a week off our wage bill.
Alan J Thompson
56 Posted 17/07/2017 at 07:19:18
Ernie (#36); I think Glynn Pardoe did something similar in a Manchester derby when his leg was broken. I remember Peter Schmeichel saying that they had to send for towels to soak up the blood from the pitch.

It has often been said that a lot more injuries are caused because the pace of the game is so much quicker albeit the tackling doesn't seem anywhere near as hard.

Steve Hopkins
57 Posted 17/07/2017 at 08:22:26
Alan (#56) – I think you're mixing up the David Busst and Glynn Pardoe leg breaks; Schmeichel was playing when Busst suffered his horrible injury.
Alan J Thompson
58 Posted 18/07/2017 at 05:17:33
Very probably, Steve, thanks for the correction as I wasn't overly sure that it was Pardoe.

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