Aiden McGeady tried to stop Dan Neil joining Rangers as he hoped for Celtic swoop | OneFootball

Aiden McGeady has revealed he urged Dan Neil not to join Rangers in the hope that former club Celtic would make a move for the midfielder.

Neil had been a long-term Rangers target and featured prominently on former boss Danny Rohl’s Ibrox wishlist during the January transfer window.

The midfielder instead joined Ipswich Town and helped the Tractor Boys secure promotion to the Premier League, having captained Sunderland to promotion from the Championship the previous season.

However, after struggling to establish himself as a regular at Portman Road and subsequently becoming a free agent, Neil eventually made the move to Rangers.

McGeady knows the 24-year-old well after spending four years alongside him at Sunderland between 2018 and 2022, with the pair part of the Black Cats squad which lifted the EFL Trophy in 2021.

The former Celtic winger has now revealed he personally messaged Neil when a Rangers move was first being discussed – while hoping the Hoops would instead make their own approach.

Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, McGeady said: “This has probably been bubbling under for a while; Celtic haven’t been playing well, but they have been getting results domestically. In the important games – Rangers, LASK – they haven’t been playing well.

“Dan Neil, not that I wanted him to do well, but he proves that I am right about football sometimes when I said he is a really good football player.

“He is probably one that Celtic should have looked at. When there was talk of him signing here, I message him and said ‘you can’t be doing that mate, you can’t be signing for Rangers’ – and I was hoping Celtic would look at him.

“Even his performance [against Celtic] on Sunday, he was carrying it 30 or 40 yards and was very comfortable and composed on the ball – and his two finishes. He is a player I think would have fit into Celtic’s system really, really well.

“I think it’s difficult for Callum now, playing in a one [in midfield]. It has been shown up in Europe and against Rangers who are pressing man to man. It’s difficult playing in a one at his age, he needs someone in there to help him.”

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