Neil Lennon has admitted he had not yet asked Aiden McGeady if he wants to leave Celtic.
Speculation over McGeady's future has been rife this summer, with Spartak Moscow having made a bid - reportedly £8.3million - for the Republic of Ireland winger, while other clubs have also expressed an interest. Lennon revealed two weeks ago he got a "vibe" from the 24-year-old that he wanted out of Parkhead but has refrained from quizzing him outright.
McGeady travelled with Celtic to London ahead of this weekend's Emirates Cup and Lennon insisted the midfielder would play some part in the pre-season tournament. However, the Hoops boss gave the same assurance the day before Wednesday night's Champions League third qualifying round first leg defeat at Braga, only for the player to be left out of the squad altogether. Asked if he knew what McGeady wanted, Lennon said: "No. He wanted to play on Wednesday, so that was a good sign, encouraging from our point of view."
Lennon claimed afterwards McGeady had been ruled out with a back injury but his omission only served to fuel rumours he is on the brink of being sold.
The Hoops boss added: "But I haven't really sat down and said, 'Are you away?', or 'Do you want to go?' or anything like that because I don't want to put unnecessary pressure on him."
Lennon was unable to give any assurance McGeady would stay beyond the end of the transfer window.
"I really can't answer that question," said the Northern Irishman, who confirmed there was a "big bid" on the table. Obviously, there's strong interest - not just from Moscow. We do believe there's interest from other clubs as well."
He added: "He's a big player for us and he has been for a number of seasons.
"He was very important to me in the run-in to last season. He's a talented player, a very talented player. But every player has his price, and sometimes we can't stand in the way of that.
"If it's right for the club - the offer - and right for the player then it's hard to stop these things going through."
Source: PA
