Celtic wanted to sign the former Hibernian midfielder John McGinn this summer.
The Scottish champions had multiple bids rejected for the 23-year-old and McGinn ended up joining Aston Villa in the Championship instead.
McGinn was very highly rated in the Scottish Premiership during his time in Scotland and Rodgers wanted to sign the midfielder as a long-term replacement for club captain Scott Brown.
Having lost the player to Aston Villa this summer, the Celtic manager has now expressed his disappointment. The Celtic boss even spoke to McGinn on the phone to convince him but the player had already made his mind up.
Rodgers revealed that McGinn has progressed a lot and he is at the right age to make an impact. The Celtic boss clearly believes that the 23-year-old would have been a superb signing for Celtic.
He said: “It’s gone, so we move on. I spoke to John at length [on Wednesday]. He was already gone. It was just to wish him all the very best. It was a great move for him, but disappointment for us of course, especially when he is a lifelong Celtic supporter. But he is joining another illustrious club with a great history and wonderful training facilities and a good manager and an opportunity to go play in England. He has developed a lot these last couple of years. He is a good age, a prime age at 23 and I wish him all the very best. He is a young man that I would like to see do well. He is very committed to his profession and a very good player. I wish him all the very best. But like I say that’s gone now we have to move on.”
The Scottish champions have missed out on quite a few targets this summer. Cristiano Piccini and Patrick Roberts were targets for the Scottish champions but neither deals have materialised.
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