Forgotten Hibs and Celtic ace makes surprise 'short-term' move as 2 cap international ends 180-day exile
The 32-year-old former Hibs star had been without a club for several months.
Former Hibs midfield star Dylan McGeouch has ended his 180-day spell away from the game by signing a ‘short-term’ deal at Northern Irish club Ballymena United.
The NIFL outfit have been besieged by an injury crisis in the last few weeks, and has moved fast to secure a deal for McGeouch as they look to increase their midfield options for the coming games. A free agent since departing relegated EFL League Two side Carlisle United in the summer, the Northern Irish club will become the seventh club of the Glasgow-born midfielder’s career after he agreed to sign for the Showgrounds.
A two-time Scottish Premiership title winner with Celtic during the early stages of his career, the 32-year-old midfielder famously won the Scottish Cup with Hibs in 2016, before he moved to Sunderland on a Bosman free transfer and went on to be capped twice by the Scotland national team shortly afterwards.
He returned to Scotland five years ago to sign for Aberdeen, but struggled for regular game time and moved back across the border into order to sign for Forest Green Rovers, where he was made made club captain under former Rangers and Everton forward Duncan Ferguson. After leaving The New Lawn Stadium, he signed a two-year deal with Carlisle in 2023, but was allowed to leave the club in May after theu suffered a shock relegation to the fifth tier of English football under Mark Hughes.
“The opportunity came up to talk to the guys behind the scenes here,” said McGeouch. “I jumped at the chance to be able to come and help this squad and club going forward. Experience is something hopefully I can bring on and off the pitch. I've been at a lot of good clubs and still think I have a lot to give. One of the selling points was that the club have a lot to play for. We're looking to compete and get into that top six, along with the cup competitions and it's exciting times."
“He's one we've been looking at for a number of weeks,” added head coach Jim Ervin. “He's come in as a free agent so is able to play straight away. The desire Dylan showed when we started conversations struck me straight away. He could've held fire to see what came up in January, but he was happy with what we discussed with him. He's a quality player and we're looking forward to seeing him on the pitch."
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