Time for John McGinn to replace Scott Brown for Celtic and Scotland

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Hibernian midfielder John McGinn has been tipped to succeed Scott Brown at Scottish Premiership champions Celtic for some time now.

After 13 years and 65 international caps, Scott Brown will never play for Scotland again.

His retirement has opened up a gaping void at the heart of Alex McLeish’s midfield that one highly-rated 23-year-old in particular will be hoping to fill.

Hibernian midfielder John McGinn has been tipped for quite some time to be the successor to former Hibs’ star Brown in the national side.

Kilmarnock striker and outspoken pundit Kris Boyd even went as far as to claim that McLeish should build his new-look side around McGinn, who could even be the country’s captain one day, the Scottish Sun reports.

But it is not just at international level where McGinn could succeed a midfielder who has been a fantastic servant for Scottish football for well over a decade.

The Express claimed in September that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers shares the view that the diminutive midfielder is about as close as you can get to a Scott Brown 2.0.

The Hoops have been linked with McGinn for almost a year now and, with just one year remaining on his contract and Hibs not exactly in a position to demand the £5 million manager Neil Lennon wants for his star man, the upcoming transfer window should see Celtic make their move.

Brown is 32 years of age these days after all and it should be a concern for Rodgers that Celtic are still very much reliant on their ageing skipper. McGinn would provide some much needed depth and a contingency plan with Brown heading towards the autumn of his career.