Aston Villa on the brink of beating Celtic to the signing of Scottish international
Drew Bartle Head Sports Editor
Celtic are reportedly set to miss out on their long-term target John McGinn at Hibernian, as Aston Villa have according to SunSport via talkSPORT, beaten the Scottish champions to an agreement for the 23-year old midfielder.
The doom and gloom surrounding Aston Villa after their playoff defeat last season and knock-on financial troubles has been lifted, and fresh off the back of an impressive 3-1 victory at Hull, the Midlands club are ready to offer a medical for John McGinn after seemingly agreeing a £4 million deal to pip Celtic to the Scottish international.
John McGinn would have been an instant hit at Celtic being Glasgow-born but the late decision to head south to Villa will put a major dent in Brendan Rodgers’ recruitment plans, ahead of their next Champions League qualification tie against AEK Athens.
Celtic have apparently been holding out to pay no more than around £2 million for McGinn with the Hibs midfielder’s contract running down next summer, and the Scottish Sun state that the Hoops were even prepared to wait until January to tie him down to a pre-contract agreement on a free.
However, their reluctance to stump up the cash has likely lost them the race with Villa swooping with just over 48 hours to go in the English transfer window.
The Scottish champions could still match Villa’s supposed £4 million offer, but Steve Bruce’s side are likely to be able to offer more in terms of wages and once again the club will be expected to challenge for a Premier League promotion push – which could appeal to McGinn and the opportunity of a fresh challenge.
Aston Villa scouts were apparently in-attendance for Hibernian’s 3-0 victory last weekend against Motherwell, and McGinn’s impressive performance set the wheels in motion to get the deal over the line before Thursday’s deadline.
