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According to reports this morning, Martin O'Neill has indicated briefly that he is impressed with what James McFadden has done during training and will be looking to speak to him about a permanent deal. Speaking with the Hartlepool Mail, the gaffer said;
We'll see how it goes but he has done well and we'll talk.
As we said, it's a brief snippet, but an encouraging one for McFadden, who has been without a club since leaving Everton at the end of last season.
McFadden may well be off pace to go immediately into action, but still aged only 29-years old there could be a reasonable future for him beyond the one-year/end of the season deal he is expected to be offered.
We initially questioned what McFadden would bring to the team - in complete fairness, not in a derisory manner - and having thought more and more about it you can't get past the fact he'd bring some much needed competition to the attacking midfield positions, which we were lacking in the first place, and now even more so with Seb Larsson in the middle of midfield.
We'll keep an eye on this one, but it looks as though this will be the best offer the Scottish international will receive any time soon, and would go straight into contention to play Manchester City.