Hibernian look likely to lose John McGinn this summer with Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic and Championship club Derby County reportedly interested.
Derby County and Celtic could be set for a real transfer tussle.
The Scottish Premiership champions have been linked with the 23-year-old for well over a year with McGinn tipped to be the long-term replacement for ageing skipper Scott Brown. But McGinn also has a firm admirer in the shape of new Derby boss Frank Lampard, who wants to make the dynamic midfielder his first signing since taking over at Pride Park.
And with interest intensifying, it seems that Hibernian manager Neil Lennon might have finally accepted defeat in his attempts to keep the Scotland international at Easter Road with just one year remaining on his contract.
“We would like to keep John – but it’s going to be difficult,” the former Celtic manager told the Edinburgh News.
“He is a huge asset. He’s the heartbeat of the team. He and Dylan (McGeouch) will leave big boots to fill – but that’s the nature of the job at a club like Hibs. Players come and if they do well they move on.”
‘Moving on’ seems to be exactly what McGinn, who is valued at £5 million by Hibs, is likely to do.
He said back in April that he would be keen to test himself at a higher level and it will be interesting to see whether he would choose a move to Scotland’s perennial title winners, who can also put Champions League football on the table, or an opportunity north of the border with ambitious Derby County.
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