Sunderland's rollercoaster of a season reached a crescendo last weekend as they eliminated from the play-offs by Lincoln City.

With their promotion hopes dashed, the Black Cats will need to dust themselves down in the coming months before preparing for yet another year of League One football.

Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, Sunderland manager Lee Johnson will have some major decisions to make regarding the futures of some of his players.

One of the individuals who has yet to agree to fresh terms at the Stadium of Light is Aiden McGeady who delivered a superb display in the second-leg of the club's clash with Lincoln.

As well as providing two assists for his team-mates, the forward recorded a stunning WhoScored rating of 9.34.

However, despite the fact that he was one of Sunderland's stand-out performers during the previous campaign, there is no guarantee that he will be part of the club's set-up for the future as his current contract expires next month.

According to page 59 of the May 16th print edition of The Sun on Sunday, Peterborough United are reportedly interested in signing McGeady on a free transfer this summer as they look to add to their squad following their promotion to the Championship.

Making reference to McGeady's current situation, pundit Kevin Phillips has admitted that whilst he isn't surprised that the winger is the subject of attention from elsewhere, he believes that the 35-year-old's wage demands will be a major factor in whether he stays at Sunderland.

Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-Black Cats striker said: "I would say wages will be a decisive factor.

"They will want to try and keep McGeady at the club so I think they'll make him an offer.

"They need to keep their best players if they want to go one better next season.

"He is one of the best in the division so it's no surprise that there is Championship clubs sniffing around him."

Phillips later added: "His [McGeady] future will boil down to finances and the player himself.

"Does he think now is the time to move on?"

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Although McGeady was able to deliver a host of fantastic displays last season for Sunderland, he is reportedly earning £19,000-per-week at the Stadium of Light which isn't a sustainable figure for a club to be paying a player at this level.

Whilst the winger did waive his right to an automatic one-year extension last week in order to play in the Black Cats' showdown with Lincoln, he may decide to move on to pastures new this summer if a club gives him the opportunity to feature on a regular basis in the Championship.

If this turns out to be the case, it is imperative that Johnson drafts up a list of potential replacements for McGeady as a failure to do so could have a detrimental impact on the club's fortunes next season.

Whereas Sunderland will be under no illusion about how difficult it will be to find a suitable successor for a player who was able to provide 23 direct goal contributions during the previous campaign, they may be able to push on in McGeady's absence if they get their transfer recruitment spot on.

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