Last week Peter Lawwell talked about frustrations in the summer transfer market, today John McGinn described it as complications.
The failure to sign the former Hibs midfielder doesn’t appear to have been critical to the way that the season has developed but it did highlight a rift between the management and the boardroom.
As McGinn prepared to sign for Aston Villa Brendan Rodgers went public about the failure of the club to land signing targets.
Securing Odsonne Edouard for a record fee in June was the perfect start to transfer business but after that things went downhill until the final day when Youssouf Mulumba and Filip Benkovic passed Moussa Dembele departing for Lyon.
With Peter Lawwell and Rod Petrie involved in the negotiations the McGinn deal was never going to be straightforward as the midfielder confessed.
Birmingham Live reported:
“I loved Celtic all my life but it wasn’t to be,” McGinn, whose grandfather was chairman of the Parkhead club, told talkSPORT.
“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.”
What went on in the negotiations will always be the subject of speculation.
Four months down the line McGinn is impressing for Villa, Celtic have uncovered Ryan Christie while Hibs flounder in the bottom half of the SPFL table with the McGinn fee tucked away in the bank for a rainy day.