Scotland international John McGinn has been tipped for a future transfer to Celtic by his former teammate Charlie Mulgrew.
Villa captain McGinn is a Glaswegian with significant family connections with Celtic, but he joined Villa instead of the Glasgow club when their interest was at its strongest in 2018.
“Listen, John McGinn would’ve loved to have went to Celtic,” Mulgrew told talkSPORT.
“I know John McGinn personally, his whole family are Celtic fans, but it just didn’t happen for whatever reason.
“I think it’s definitely going to be in his head [to sign for Celtic]. When you’re brought up in Glasgow, the only teams that you see are Celtic and Rangers – and for you, that’s the pinnacle of football.
“I’d picture myself growing up in the streets of Glasgow, picturing myself scoring against Rangers, that was my dream. That was the top of the world of football for me.
“Because that was all I had seen – I know now that there’s bigger games, but to then eventually score against Rangers and feel that, I know John McGinn will be desperate to do that. Whether that happens or not, I just don’t know.”
Mulgrew’s prediction is an acknowledgement that McGinn has long held a dream of playing for Celtic even though his career took him instead to St Mirren, Hibernian and, with Villa, the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
McGinn has become one of Villa’s most important and most influential players but his deep connection to Celtic is explained in part by the fact that Jack McGinn, the Villa captain’s late grandfather, was the club’s chairman and the president of the Scottish Football Association.
McGinn got his first senior call-up to the Scotland national team in March 2016, at the age of 21, for a friendly against Denmark. He scored his first goal for Scotland in September 2019, during a Euro 2020 qualification match with Russia.
The Villa skipper has grown up to be a leader for club and country. He’s in the top five most capped players for Scotland and is also Scotland’s fifth all-time top goalscorer.
His performances under Steve Clarke have been instrumental in their pursuit of a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a quest that remains alive thanks to a very squeaky win over Belarus on Sunday.
McGinn and Mulgrew played together 14 times for Scotland and the former defender played more than 125 Scottish Premiership fixtures for Celtic, winning the title in five consecutive seasons.
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