Celtic have reportedly seen two bids rejected for John McGinn, but are not too far away from the asking price.
Based on recent reports, it certainly seems fair to say that Celtic appear to be in the driving seat to sign John McGinn from Hibernian this summer, with Sky Sports reporting this week that the Hoops have now seen two bids rejected by their Scottish Premiership rivals.
McGinn is one of the most impressive midfielders in the Scottish game and it would probably surprise a lot of people if he was available to Neil Lennon when Motherwell visited Easter Road at the start of next month.
Sky Sports reports that Celtic have bid £1.5 million and £1.75 million for McGinn in recent times, so they may perhaps be the team that are the favourites to sign the Scotland international. But given that the Daily Record has recently suggested that the 23-year-old’s asking price is £3 million, perhaps it would be fair to suggest that Celtic may just be taking a slightly unnecessary risk with the way that they are approaching their pursuit of McGinn.
There is no reason to believe that Celtic’s pursuit is anything different to what Hibs may have expected, but perhaps there is a chance that Hibs may become frustrated with the Hoops placing bids that are not far off the reported asking price but still fall short.
Celtic may argue that he only has one year left on his deal and thus, paying more makes little sense. But as they are willing to pay £1.75 million and not exactly struggling for funds, some may argue that if Brendan Rodgers was that keen to have McGinn in his ranks, he would just pay the asking price and get him in as early as possible.
Sky Sports reports that McGinn has a number of admirers, including some from the Premier League, so he may also be forgiven for questioning whether Celtic is the right move for him if the champions are reluctant to meet his asking price with their initial bids.
As mentioned, McGinn’s goal may be to head to Parkhead and Celtic may ultimately get their man without any animosity growing between the two sides. But with Celtic already willing to pay £1.75 million, it seems slightly odd not to be making a much greater stride towards his asking price.
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