THE John McGinn transfer saga between Hibernian and Celtic looks set to rumble on a little while yet, but it would be in the best interests of both clubs – and St Mirren – if the negotiations were brought to a speedy conclusion.

Of course, Celtic are well within their rights to try and barter the best price they can, and Hibs are well within their rights to try and hold out for the most money they can get for one of their prize assets, but both clubs would be well served trying to find some middle ground as soon as possible.

From Celtic’s point of view, I think it is clear that their squad needs a little bit of freshening up. Yes, they won another treble last year, so it is hard to argue that they need a raft of new players, but there was a little bit of staleness that crept in now and again last season. Seven draws and three defeats tell you that, with a number of disappointing results at home in particular.

Whether John McGinn would get in their side straight away is another debate. He has improved every single season I’ve been watching him, but with the way Celtic are currently lining up, it is difficult to see who he could oust to get into the side.

He isn’t quite the same sort of player as Scott Brown despite the frequent comparisons between the two, with John perhaps lacking a little bit of the defensive discipline that the Celtic captain possesses. He likes to make forays forward and try to get involved higher up the park more frequently than Brown would.

Olivier Ntcham is the other sitting player in there, and as big a fan as I am of John, you would have to say that the young Frenchman has real quality and would be hard to shift. And he isn’t quite a number 10 either, so he would probably not get in ahead of the likes of Callum McGregor.

With Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton still to return to the fold too, it suddenly becomes difficult to see where John sits in the pecking order.

As much as comparisons with Brown don’t ring true though at the moment, perhaps he is being targeted as a long-term successor to the Celtic captain. If anyone can mould him into that sort of player, then it would be Brendan Rodgers.

McGinn reminds me of the sort of player Brown was 10 years ago, and very few would have predicted the transformation in his game from then to now, so it is entirely plausible that is the plan Celtic have for John.

From a Hibs perspective, although they don’t want to lose another one of their key midfielders, the longer this draws out the harder it becomes for Neil Lennon to adequately reinforce the middle of the park.

Dylan McGeouch has already gone for nothing, and while I’m sure he would like to avoid losing McGinn too, I can’t see the club wanting to lose out on two to three million pounds this summer when they know the player is going to leave on a pre-contract next summer anyway.

It would make sense to sell just now, but only if they can get adequate funds to not only satisfy the club’s board, but to hand Lennon a significant amount of money to rebuild such a crucial area of the park.

There is such a feel-good factor around Hibs at the minute, and it would be a shame if that was eroded going into the new season because the manager wasn’t able to afford to strengthen the side after losing integral components of his team.

The other factor to consider is the chunky sell-on due to St Mirren, and I’m sure that Alan Stubbs is also watching developments closely. If Hibs can get close to £3million for McGinn, then a third of that cash would be most welcome indeed for the Saints manager.

Of course, he won’t be handed the full amount, but even a decent chunk of that money would really help him add the quality that will be needed if the Championship winners are to survive in their first season back in the Premiership.

It’s a difficult situation and I can see all sides of the argument, but I hope that for John’s sake, and the sake of all the clubs involved, that a fair price can be agreed and all parties can move ahead with their plans for what should be an exciting campaign ahead for all.