Black Cats still in for Spartak star

Martin O'Neill is reportedly still looking to take Aiden McGeady to Sunderland despite his disappointing Euro 2012 tournament.

The Black Cats boss was linked with a summer swoop for the winger, who plied his trade under O'Neill during their days together at Scottish champions Celtic, earlier this month after it was claimed that he will not sign a new deal with Russian outfit Spartak Moscow. However, McGeady endured a disappointing Euro 2012, along with rest of his Republic of Ireland team-mates as they crashed out of the tournament without a single point from three group matches. Despite that it seems O'Neill would still be happy to take him to the Stadium of Light, where he would occupy the right side of midfield and complement his fellow Ireland team-mate James McClean on the opposite flank. O'Neill has admitted that he would never sign a player on the basis of him enjoying a good summer tournament so it seems it cuts both ways in that he would not write one off if they fail to perform. "I've seen it before," he said in the Sunderland Echo. "Some players can have fantastic finals, get a big-money move and then completely fail to turn it on for their new club - you've got to bear in mind that any player can have a purple patch of form over a short tournament." Meanwhile Spanish side Sevilla are reportedly resigned to losing out on 31-year-old defender Carlos Cuellar to Sunderland because they cannot compete with the wages on offer for the player, who is available on a Bosman free transfer after departing Aston Villa at the end of last season.