OPINION
Hibernian manager Neil Lennon may have just provided the spark for a furious transfer battle between Rangers and Celtic to sign midfielder John McGinn this summer after admitting the 23-year-old is going to be hard to keep hold of.
The Scottish Sun reported in May that McGinn is on the radar of the Hoops and Gers manager Steven Gerrard this summer as he enters the final year of his contract at Easter Road.
And the scrap between the two Old Firm rivals to sign the Scotland international could just be about to step up a notch after Lennon’s new comments about the midfielder’s future at Hibs suggested that he is resigned to losing him this summer.
“We would like to keep John – but it’s going to be difficult,” said Lennon, as quoted by the Edinburgh Evening News. “He is a huge asset. He’s the heartbeat of the team. He and Dylan will leave big boots to fill – but that’s the nature of the job at a club like Hibs. Players come and if they do well they move on.”
McGinn is a lifelong Celtic supporter, and many fans believe that he could turn out to be a long-term successor to club captain Scott Brown, who also made the move to Parkhead from Hibs earlier in his career.
Brendan Rodgers has done very little this summer, but the news from the Daily Record that Stuart Armstrong is set to undergo a medical at Southampton may mean that he will remain in the market for McGinn as a replacement.
On the other side of Glasgow, Gerrard has not wasted time in stamping his mark on the squad at Ibrox.
McGinn’s quality would far surpass most of the Gers’ current midfield options, but the fact that he is a Celtic supporter may mean that completing a swoop for him this summer is a stretch too far.
The midfield maestro was in stunning form last term for Hibs.
He scored six goals and supplied eight assists in 43 appearances across all competitions, proving that he has what it takes to mix it with the big boys in the Scottish Premiership.
But who will he be playing for come the end of the summer transfer window?
At the moment, it seems more likely that the Celtic-supporting midfielder has more of a chance of playing for Rangers than his current club.