David Hay thinks no John McGinn signing saw Ryan Christie stay at Celtic

Follow us on Google Discover

Aston Villa signed John McGinn from Hibernian despite reported interest from Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic.

David Hay has suggested in The Glasgow Evening Times that had Celtic signed John McGinn from Hibernian before he went to Aston Villa, then Ryan Christie would have moved to Aberdeen.

John McGinn transfer

Villa in the Championship in England signed McGinn from Hibernian in the summer transfer window for a fee reported by The Lancashire Telegraph to be worth £4 million.

Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic, though, were interested in securing the services of the Scotland international midfielder, according to The Daily Record, with the Glasgow giants claimed to have matched the Villans’ offer for the 24-year-old.

McGinn has scored two goals and provided four assists in 18 Championship appearances for Villa so far this season, according to WhoScored.

Ryan Christie stay

Christie returned to Celtic from a successful loan spell at Aberdeen in the summer of 2018 and has established himself as an important player in Rodgers’s team.

The 23-year-old Scotland international midfielder has scored five goals in 11 Scottish Premiership appearances and has played in four Europa League matches for the Bhoys, according to WhoScored.

Interesting comments

Former Celtic midfielder and manager Hay believes that had Celtic signed McGinn, then Christie would have left for Aberdeen.

Hay wrote in The Glasgow Evening Times: “No-one has a crystal ball but I strongly suspect that had McGinn ended up at Celtic this summer then Ryan Christie would probably have headed back to Aberdeen. Who knows?”