Aston Villa signed John McGinn in the summer.
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell claims the Scottish Premiership club did all they could to sign John McGinn in the summer, but the player instead opted to move to Aston Villa, The Scottish Sun report.
“John McGinn decided to go to Aston Villa rather than Celtic, that was his professional choice. I am satisfied we did all we could to bring him to Celtic but he made a career decision to go to Villa,” Lawwell explained.
Celtic were long deemed the favourites to sign the midfielder last summer as McGinn had just 12 months remaining on his contract at Hibs and was lined up for a potential bargain move.
But following plenty of speculation, it was Villa who ultimately secured the 24-year-old’s signature as they brought him in on the English deadline day for a reported fee of £2.8 million (The Scottish Sun).
Missing out on McGinn was a blow for Celtic, and their early Champions League exit in the qualifying round at the hands of AEK Athens only further highlighted the general disappointment of the Hoops’ summer transfer business.
McGinn has since established himself as a first-team regular in Villa’s midfield, scoring two goals and grabbing a further four assists in 15 Championship starts as the west Midlands club look to challenge for the top six.
One of those goals included a goal of the season contender, a stunning volley against Sheffield Wednesday.
It is said in the report by The Scottish Sun that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers targeted McGinn as an ideal replacement for Stuart Armstrong following his move to Southampton, and for such a moderate fee the Scottish club can certainly have regrets over the whole ordeal.
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