Celtic were interested in McGinn last summer, but Villa won the race to land the midfielder.
Michael Stewart has told BBC SportSound that in-form Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie would not be getting his chance in the Hoops side under Brendan Rodgers, had the Hoops beaten Aston Villa to the signing of John McGinn.
McGinn, 24, joined Aston Villa for a fee of £2.7million (Scottish Sun) despite being linked heavily with a move to the Scottish champions from Hibernian in the summer.
Since his move down south, midfielder McGinn has shone in a struggling Aston Villa side. He has scored twice and created three more from midfield in his 14 Villa outings, becoming a mainstay under Dean Smith.
Former Hibs midfielder Stewart reckons Christie, who has broken into the Celtic side and impressed of late, would not have got that chance had Celtic completed a deal to sign Scotland international McGinn.
“If John McGinn was at Celtic, Ryan Christie would not be getting his chance,” Stewart said. “Two months on from the end of August and John McGinn doesn’t sign, there was a disaster looming at Celtic.
“The options in midfield were looking paper thin – but now, because of that, Ryan Christie has got his chance. He’s taken his chance wonderfully well.”
Christie signed a new contract at Celtic earlier this week with his previous deal expiring in the summer, which is reward for his excellent performances that saw him shine in the 3-0 League Cup semi-final win over Hearts as well as providing the assist for Odsonne Edouard’s winner against RB Leipzig.
Both Christie and McGinn are part of the Scotland squad that are preparing to face Albania and Israel in two crucial UEFA Nations League fixtures during the current international break.
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