Celtic Fan View: Could John McGinn be Scott Brown's heir at Parkhead?

After Celtic’s enthralling 2-2 draw at Easter Road on Sunday, the action didn’t stop at full-time. Both managers continued the fun with a tit for tat debate in the press room. The subject of this debate? Comparisons between Hibees ace John McGinn and Bhoys captain Scott Brown.

“There is no contest. Scott Brown is the outstanding midfielder in Scotland. I like McGinn… but he’s got a way to go before reaching that level,” was Brendan Rodgers’ assessment. Neil Lennon responded by saying: ““I totally disagree… I thought McGinn was outstanding.”

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Celtic’s dominance has been so powerful since Rodgers’ arrival that an opposition player very rarely dominates the discussion in the aftermath of a game. Certainly not with such glowing positivity as McGinn in the last few days. That in itself could be considered a fine achievement given the Hoops’ unbeaten run (now 68 matches) understandably grabs most of the headlines.

McGinn’s quality or ability to mix it with the best in the top flight is proven. And it was at Parkhead where he truly announced himself with a stunning brace as the Edinburgh outfit held the champions to a 2-2 draw. In the absence of Brown that day McGinn ran the show in Glasgow, taking the game by the scruff of the neck in midfield and he was extremely close to completing an historic hat-trick.

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Fast forward two and a half months and this time he did go head-to-head with Brown. While in the reverse fixture we seen how devastating McGinn can be with the ball, this encounter showed the other side to his game- just how good he is without possession. He was in Brown’s face for the majority of the 90 minutes, tackling, pressing and harassing his international team-mate, making Brown as uncomfortable as possible. The energy, diligence and tactical nous he displayed was something very few- if any- could replicate in the SPFL.

The 23-year-old was also the architect of the first of Hibs’ two goals on Sunday. Two fine showings and praise from Rodgers has got the transfer rumours swirling around again. Rodgers is an admirer and there was talk of a summer switch which never gained momentum. The latest gossip is that Celtic could offer cash plus Liam Henderson in a deal which would suit all parties.

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Outwith Celtic’s squad, McGinn is probably the best central midfielder in Scotland. He’s certainly good enough to play for Celtic. The deeper and hence more pertinent question then is, is McGinn a significant upgrade on what the Bhoys already have at their disposal?

The former St.Mirren youngster probably won’t score as often as Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong but he’d provide more dynamism and ferocity in the middle of the park than those two and Olivier Ntcham.

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He’s not a complete midfielder by any means but there’s no reason why McGinn can’t add more strings to his bow under the stewardship of a brilliant man manager in Rodgers. Many thought Scott Allan could do the same but his weakness both physically and mentally was apparent from the offset. There’s a toughness to McGinn that suggests he could flourish if he made the step up.

With Scott Brown nearing his 33rd birthday, McGinn might actually be the ideal man to eventually take over from the skipper even if Rodgers doesn’t think he’s quite ready to do so at present.