Nobody has to convince me that Celtic has not done enough in this transfer window. I know it well and I’ve written it. It is disgraceful that we are heading into this Athens double header weaker than this time last year.
I have said so. I have written it.
Nobody has to convince me that McGinn is a good player. I’ve been a fan longer than Brendan Rodgers has been here.
Before this window opened I was 100% sure that he would one day be a Celtic player but that conviction has weakened as this saga has rolled on because of one man; Rod Petrie of Hibs who is locked in conflict with our CEO.
I have read a lot of negative comment thrown at our board over this but I stand by them here every step of the way. McGinn is on his way to talk to Villa with no fee in place: it has disrupted Lennon’s preparation for an important match to no guaranteed outcome.
That is how determined Petrie is not to sell McGinn to Celtic. No one should kid themselves than an improved bid would change that. He’s in the last year of his deal. £4 million is not a realistic fee it is attempted robbery, and on no account should we pay it.
There are some who will say that Villa is a good move for him. That depends what he wants from his career. If it’s about money he’ll certainly earn well and good luck to him and then Petrie will look like he played this right.
But that does not mean that we played it wrong. From this point forward we owe his club nothing and that’s going to have an impact beyond the current campaign and this particular transfer deal.
I believe McGinn would be making a mistake to move there; he will be turning down a chance to be part of something special to play second tier football again.
He will never get another chance to play for us and he will know it. That’s out of our hands and it always was because Petrie won’t sell him to Celtic now unless he has no choice.
Whatever happens next I will not hold Celtic accountable for.