I think Celtic have done the right thing is taking the money for Stuart Armstrong – and I agree that John McGinn is a decent replacement for him.

The move to Southampton is ideal for both parties; the player just never quite hit the heights that he showed in the latter half of Brendan Rodger’s first season at Celtic and the figures quoted of £7m suggest a pretty good bit of business for the club.

I have heard one or two grumbles that given the money the Parkhead side have made in the Champions League and through the sale of players that they should be setting the bar higher than that, but I think they have already set a pretty high standard this season.

They have smashed their own transfer record to bring Odsonne Edouard to the club and I think that will prove to be a pretty good bit of business. I don’t think the club can be criticised for looking to bring in the best Scottish talent and I think that McGinn would be a decent addition to the squad.

Ironically, the most lauded player at Celtic this season has been Scott Brown for his performances, his leadership qualities and for the way that he drives the team. He has grown into a really inspirational captain and is rightly revered by the Hoops support because of that.

He came to Celtic from Hibs. McGinn is 23, he is not a kid anymore. He has a load of football under his belt having earned his stripes at St Mirren and Hibs and I think that even if there were other clubs calling from south of the border that the lure of playing for Celtic for him would be huge.

He is from a big Celtic family and I do think that makes a difference when it comes to making a decision. There is definitely an emotional pull and if it comes to it that there is a choice for him to make, my money would be that Celtic would win it.

There is a risk that come with every signing you make. I do think that it is a shock to the system for some players when they arrive at the club from another Scottish team because not every player appreciates the massive step up that it is.

You can’t draw two games on the bounce at Celtic or else it is a crisis. You are under the microscope in every game and in what you do away from the park and that is something that players at other clubs don’t quite grasp, I think.

So you have guys like Nadir Ciftci and Gary Mackay-Steven who have starred well at another club but who then come to Celtic and can’t really replicate that. It happens. The pressure at Celtic is absolutely massive but you don’t know how it is going to go until you step into that environment.

For a player of McGinn’s experience and potential, if you were to look at the English market then you would be having to pay fortunes to get him. It would be well over the £3m that is being quoted at the minute for him.

I don’t think it is anything other than pretty good business to look at getting the best value for your money and McGinn for me is a pretty decent investment. As we have all seen, Brendan Rodgers is capable of getting the best of players and he’ll have seen plenty of the midfielder.

I also think that if Hibs are keen to keeping them to get through their Europa League qualifiers that Brendan and Neil [Lennon] have a strong enough relationship that they could come to a gentleman’s agreement. It is not unheard of. Celtic managed to keep hold of Virgil van Dijk for a qualification campaign under Ronny Deila before they sold the Dutchman.

They never made it that season to the group stages but they were able to have Van Dijk in there in their quest to do so.

I am sure that Neil could have a quiet word with John and explain that if he put in a shift to get them through a couple of games then he had a big move just waiting on him. It is just a one-last push conversation.

In any case, Celtic will look to bring in more new faces before the window closes I am sure. But Brendan won’t just want players in for the sake of bolstering number.

He will be looking to bring guys in who can walk into that squad and help them kick on to another level again. To do that then you have to be better than what is already there – and you also have to be prepared to come in and work your socks off because there isn’t one player in there who can be sure that they will be in the team every week.

You have to be hungry and willing to arrive with the right kind of attitude and I think John McGinn ticks those boxes. I think he has impressed at times when he has played against Celtic for Hibs and I’d be interested to see just what he was capable of alongside Brown and company in the middle of the park.