SAFC BIG SURVEY
Hold onto McGeady, say fans
Eight out of 10 Sunderland fans have backed the call to offer Aiden McGeady a contract offer with supporters hoping he puts pen to paper on a new deal.
As part of our Big SAFC Survey, we asked supporters whether they would offer the experienced winger a new deal and 81.1% agreed he still had a lot to offer on Wearside.
Ahead of the second leg of the League One play-off semi-final with Lincoln City, it was revealed McGeady was just one starting appearance away from triggering an automatic one-year extension to his current contract.
Sunderland were reluctant to activate that clause, given his earning status and the uncertainty over what division the club will play in next season.
But McGeady eased that situation by agreeing to waive the clause so he could feature and Sunderland have since offered him new terms, with the winger weighing up his future.
Head coach Lee Johnson has always said he hopes a deal can be agreed as McGeady remains a key part of his plans.
“There have been contractual conversations regarding his future,” said Johnson ahead of the Lincoln game.
"For me, on the football side of it, I would love to keep Aiden McGeady next season because I think he is a fantastic player and we get on extremely well.
"But it's between him and the sporting director.
“All I can do is be really genuine and honest and sound with the player, deliver the information that’s given to me and prove to him that I want him to be an important part of our plans moving forward.”
After McGeady’s return to the Sunderland squad under Johnson, he quickly and firmly established himself as an integral player.
For his part, McGeady said in the aftermath of Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Peterborough United in March that he hoped to stay at the club.
"Of course I do,” he said. “I never wanted to leave Sunderland last January, I wanted to stay. That's why I didn't leave in the summer.
“I'm happy here and I want to be a part of the team that goes back up and then part of the team that maybe goes back up again – that's the dream, for everyone here.”