CELTIC missed out on John McGinn yesterday evening when he put pen to paper for Aston Villa.

After a summer of messing around Celtic finally matched Hibs valuation of the player but it was too little too late.

John had seen and even held his golden ticket down south and that was enough to ensure he became a Villa player.

So, how did a lad, that grew up a Celtic fan, who had been linked with Celtic all summer and was desperate to come end up at Aston Villa?

There is only one culprit here and it’s Peter Lawwell.

The chief executive refused to play ball with Hibs after they seemingly moved the goal posts on a deal that looked inevitable at times.

The refusal to up the bid because John was in the last year of his deal was another factor in Lawwell not upping the bid, while at the same time demanding £7million for Stuart Armstong who was in the same situation.

In footballing terms, it’s not a massive blow to Celtic but in the background dynamics between the manager and his board – the mood will not be what it should be for a double treble winning side.

No, we never needed John McGinn and many fans believed the money could be spent elsewhere BUT the manager wanted the player and it was an easy lay-up for Lawwell to slam dunk. Not only did he miss the hoop, he shattered the glass board and fell flat on his face.

There is still a long way to go in this window but with a monumental effort needed to make sure Celtic get to the play-off round of the Champions League – the inability to invest sooner could finally be this boards undoing.