Hibernian manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that a second bid tabled by Celtic for midfielder John McGinn has been been rejected.
Sky Sports has reported that the Hoops have bid £1.75million for the 23-year-old Scotland international, just a £250,000 improvement on their opening offer of last week.
And Hibs manager Lennon has now made it public that Brendan Rodgers has made another attempt to sign his midfield maestro, and that his offer is yet to reach the club’s valuation.
“We have rejected two bids from Celtic. Our club has a valuation of the player,” said Lennon, as quoted by the Daily Record in their live transfer blog on Wednesday [01:47pm].
“I don’t know what that is but obviously Celtic have not met the valuation that Hibs want.”
OPINION
McGinn is in the final year of his contract at Hibernian and something will have to give before the end of the transfer window otherwise Lennon will more than likely lose him for nothing next year. Celtic’s offers are well short of what the 23-year-old is worth, but there’s no point in making a bid that matches Hibs’ valuation straight away in order to make them drop their estimations. For someone who is out of contract in a year, a fee of £2million should really be enough. All sorts of price-tags have been mentioned amid all the links between Celtic and the ex-St Mirren midfielder, but there will surely be some kind of agreement reached not too far away from what the Scottish Premiership champions are currently offering up. No one else seems to have concrete interest in the midfielder, so the Bhoys can take their time with this one to get a good deal.