Neil Lennon confirms Hibs have rejected new Celtic bid for John McGinn

Hibs are understood to have rejected a second bid from Celtic for John McGinn. Picture: SNS Group

The Easter Road side knocked back a £1.5 million bid from the Hoops earlier this month, but were braced for an improved approach for the 22-year-old from Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The Scottish champions came back with a new offer, believed to be in the region of £2 million, but the Hibs head coach confirmed it had been thrown out.

He said: “We have rejected two bids from Celtic. Our club has a valuation of the player. I don’t know what that is but obviously Celtic have not met the valuation that Hibs want.”

The latest bid has come as Hibs prepare for their Europa League first round qualifier against NSI Runavik of the Faroe Islands at Easter Road on Thursday night, but Lennon is sure McGinn will be in the right frame of mind to play after confirming he would be in his matchday squad.

“He’s been all right,” said Lennon, who moved from Leicester City to Celtic after a protracted transfer saga.

“Obviously it is difficult. Listen, I have been a player myself, so it’s difficult dealing with speculation.

“When a club as big as Celtic come in for you there is always that anticipation, from his point of view, of maybe making that step forward, if you want to call it that.

“However, he has to be professional. We have had a couple of chats over the piece about it. He will just have to wait and see how it develops because he is our player, and he’s a very important player for us.”

McGinn is entering the final year of his contract with Hibs and has already been the subject of interest from Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest.

Birmingham City and Derby County have also been linked with the Scotland international.