Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has reflected on failing to sign John McGinn during his first spell at the club.
The midfielder was poised to leave Hibernian in the summer of 2018 and the Parkhead club were widely linked with his services.
In the end, McGinn completed a move to Aston Villa for a fee reported to be in the region of £2.6m (Transfermarkt) as Rodgers and Co. missed out on a key target.
The 30-year-old has since flourished in Birmingham and made 261 appearances for Villa, leading them back to the promised land of the English Premier League.
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He is now set to face Celtic this evening in the Champions League, and ahead of the match, Rodgers was quizzed on the Scotland international and how he almost brought him to Glasgow's east end six and a half years ago: "Yeah, I was very keen on taking John to Celtic," he said.
"But listen, the move has worked out brilliant for him. Obviously, he joined Steve (Bruce) at the time and they were in the Championship, but he was coming to a massive club, a great club.
"And they then got themselves out of the Championship and he's really thrived in the environment here. I'm so pleased for him because, like I said, the Celtic move was nearly there. But he's come down to England and he's been absolutely brilliant for Aston Villa.
"I see he's just back fit, so he may play a part in the game tomorrow. But, no, he's been a real instrumental player from what I see on the pitch. And obviously, off the pitch, he's got strong character and I'm sure he's really influenced the club."
Rodgers will be hoping McGinn doesn't have a significant impact on proceedings at Villa Park tonight.
He netted twice against Celtic for Hibs in a 2-2 draw at Parkhead back in 2017 and is in line to play this evening, having recently returned from a hamstring injury at the weekend.
