Aston Villa star John McGinn admits he had his "heart set" on joining Celtic in the summer of 2018.
The Hoops were close to doing a deal for the Scotland international, but the move ultimately collapsed when they couldn't agree a fee with Hibs .
McGinn moved to Villa instead in a £2.7million deal and is currently starring in the Premier League.
Celtic may have regrets about not getting the deal over the line but so does the man himself.
Speaking about the transfer saga of that summer, McGinn told BT Sport's Scottish Football Extra: "It was awful. That summer was extremely tough for me, especially as it was such an important time for Hibs.
"I think Celtic had a few offers at the time and openly I had my heart set on it. I’d spoken to everyone at Hibs including Neil Lennon , who ironically is now the Celtic manager.
"I’m wrapped in a Celtic bubble up the road. A lot of my family are Celtic fans and all my friends go and follow them home and away. At the time it was so tough. Every day I was getting the questions and even I didn’t know what was going on."
Though he's currently pulling up trees in the English top flight, McGinn hasn't ruled out turning out for Celtic one day.
He added: "You never say never in football.
"When you’ve got that instilled in you it never really does leave you. Obviously the circumstances mean that I’m now an Aston Villa player but I’ll just take each year as it comes and if it does happen down the line then who knows."
