John McGinn has spoken in detail about the transfer saga that saw him miss out on a summer move to Celtic.
When history records the 2018 transfer window that deal will be seen as pivotal despite the hoops splashing out a club record £9m to bring in Odsonne Edouard.
McGinn had a year left on his Hibs deal with the Edinburgh club keen to do business rather than lose their top asset for nothing in June 2019
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“It was hard for me, it really was difficult”
John McGinn opens up on how close he came to joining @CelticFC from @HibernianFC this summer before eventually signing for @AVFCOfficial. pic.twitter.com/cpcEjBtJNk
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) December 16, 2018
He told Sky Sports: “The process started to drag on, obviously Celtic made a few offers and it was hard for me. It was difficult, I had been a Celtic season ticket holder for 15 years so I had my heart set on it.
“Then two months along the line it became quite clear that a deal wasn’t being agreed so I had to keep my head, be professional and keep on playing for Hibs. I did that and stayed focused on my football.
“And then I got the opportunity to go down and see Aston Villa, I was blown away, a massive club. Superb facilities and when they got the bid accepted it was the place that I would go.”
The McGinn Saga became public when Brendan Rodgers spoke out about the difficulties of the transfer market on the eve of the home match with AEK Athens. During that match McGinn signed for Villa.
After signing Edouard on June 15 Celtic never added any more players until the closing day of the transfer window when Filip Benkovic was signed on loan from Leicester while former Kilmarnock midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu was signed as a free agent.
