Derby County are reportedly preparing a £3m bid for Hibernian midfielder, John McGinn. The 23-year-old has already been heavily linked with a move to Celtic as a potential replacement for Stuart Armstrong but Frank Lampard is willing to fight it out with less than a month left of the summer transfer window.
McGinn was out serving his country in international friendlies against Peru and Mexico when speculations started to rise over his potential departure from Easter Road. He now has 9 caps to his name for Scotland and also became a part of the first Hibs trio, alongside Lewis Stevenson and Dylan McGeouch to appear in an international game since the 1-1 draw against England in 1956.
McGinn has always been a promising talent with 12 youth caps for the Tartan Army and also featuring for the St Mirren’s Ralston Academy. He made over 80 league appearances for the Saints before signing with Hibernian in July 2015.
With just 12 months left in his current contract, McGinn is expected to be sold off now to prevent a free transfer around this time next year. The 23-year-old had appeared in 46 games for the Scottish outfit in the last term and made offensive contributions with 6 goals and 8 assists.
He has been prolific for both the Easter Road-based outfit and for his country, forcing Derby and other English outfits to take notice of his talents.
Adding him will definitely bolster the Rams squad ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. Lampard has succeeded Gary Rowett to the managerial seat at Pride Park and is already looking for ways to improve upon previous season’s performances.
However, where could this leave Celtic with the summer transfer window less than a month from closing? Brendan Rodgers is bound to panic over finding an immediate replacement who will be able to add the same amount of quality to his midfield lineup.
Stuart Armstrong was a regular for the Hoops and played a key role in Celtic’s consecutive double winning season. McGinn is only 23 and has the same creative touch as Armstrong with more versatility to his game.
The prospects of the Premier League is bound to draw the attention of ambitious heads and Derby has the financial backing to pull off a coup.
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Rodgers has to take personal measures to convince McGinn over the prospects of signing with the reigning Scottish Premiership champions rather than just another English side competing for promotion. However, this transfer saga looks far from done for the Bhoys as reports suggest that their second bid for the player has also been rejected by Hibernian, which is surely a big blow for them in their pursuit of the Scottish international.
