NEIL LENNON insists the uncertainty regarding the future of John McGinn is “unsettling” for the Hibs midfielder.
The Easter Road boss confirmed that a second Celtic offer – believed to be around £2million – had been rejected yesterday.
Despite the transfer furore, Lennon intends to field McGinn against Faroese part-timers NSI Runavik in their Europa League qualifier at Easter Road this evening.
He said: “Of course, it is unsettling for the player. This is football and you can’t stop progress, but all the speculation is not an easy thing for him to deal with.
“We just need to manage him as best we can until it’s resolved one way or the other. The best thing for him is to play. I’ve seen no ill-effects in his play. He was excellent against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday and also played well at Linlithgow. He has a bit of a dead leg, but trained well yesterday and is available for Runavik.
“You would need to ask Celtic if it’s inevitable that John will go. We’ve had two bids in, which have not been accepted by the club. There’s been communication between the clubs and I think Celtic are aware of what we value John at – they haven’t met that.”
There have been suggestions that Scott Allan, who impressed on loan at Easter Road in the second half of last season, could be used as a makeweight in the deal. The playmaker was on the substitutes’ bench for the Hoops when they face Alashkert in Armenia on Tuesday night.
Lennon revealed: “Scott Allan hasn’t been mentioned in the talks.”
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