Scottish Premiership champions Celtic made a number of failed bids for midfielder John McGinn before he moved to the Championship with Aston Villa.
After over a year of almost constant speculation, Celtic’s attempts to bring John McGinn to Glasgow fell at the final hurdle.
Heading into the final days of the summer transfer window, Brendan Rodgers’ side stepped up their interest in the influential Hibernian midfielder with Sky Sports reporting that they had made a series of bids.
But with just one day to go until the window slammed shut, McGinn was posing in claret and blue instead. Aston Villa eventually came out on top at the end of this protracted transfer saga despite Celtic matching their winning bid, Sky Sports adds.
The Scotland international is a boyhood Celtic fan and The Hoops’ inability to get the deal done was seen as a big failure. But does the 24-year-old regret missing the chance to make the dream move to Parkhead?
“I loved Celtic all my life but it wasn’t to be,” McGinn told Jim White on talkSPORT (27 November, 12pm).
“There was a lot of complications (with the Celtic approach). At the end of the day, Aston Villa just felt right and I’m delighted I made this choice.
“No (I don’t regret missing Celtic switch). You cannot look back and think what if. I’m playing for Aston Villa, it’s a massive club and I’ve got great coaches round me.”
McGinn has certainly lived up to high expectations since his move to Villa Park, quickly establishing himself as a key first-team player and assisting four goals in 15 Championship games so far. His £2.75 million fee (BBC) looks like a bargain already.
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