‘The smartest footballer’ – Celtic told they have a midfielder worth ‘£40 million easily’

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It’s never has been and never will be easy representing a club like Celtic.

Celtic have dominated Scotland for nearly three decades now, including winning 13 out of the last 14 Premiership titles, as the recent success has been relentless and like nothing before.

Many people have played a part in it, from Brendan Rodgers, over his two trophy-laden spells, to the entertaining Ange Postecoglou and his Treble-winning team.

One man has been a constant throughout that, and that’s Callum McGregor, as he was rightfully given his flowers for how influential he is to this Celtic side and the club as a whole.

• READ MORE: Celtic scout says Brendan Rodgers has signed a ‘lieutenant’ for captain Callum McGregor this summer

Callum McGregor is worth ‘£40 million’ for Celtic

One man who has played alongside McGregor and seen his work up close and personal is Johnny Hayes, who is now coaching at Parkhead.

Speaking to Sky Sports Football (10/08/25), Hayes lauded the Celtic captain as ‘the smartest footballer I have come across.’

Added to that, Hayes thinks, on the transfer market right now, a player like McGregor is worth ‘£40 million easily’ given his importance to the side.

“For me, he is the type of player for Celtic that he is priceless,” said Hayes. “He is irreplaceable.

“To get a player who can control the game, who can drive forward, and who can pick a pass, score goals. He can tick every box. He is almost like a winger, well, he was a winger when he was younger, playing in there. 

“See if you had to go and replace that in any top-level team? You are talking £30 or £40 million easily. You can see, at times, when he was given a breather last season, the difference he makes when he isn’t in the team. It’s noticeable when he isn’t in the team. 

“He is the smartest footballer I have come across.”

When McGregor could have joined Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City

Putting aside McGregor’s loan spell at Notts County as a teenager when he was coming through the ranks at Celtic Park, he has dedicated his career to Scotland’s most successful club.

But there was a time when he could have potentially left his boyhood club.

When Rodgers left Celtic for Leicester City in 2019, he was keen to sign McGregor, but just couldn’t get a deal over the line, as he explained in 2023.

“Yes, I was keen to get him,” said Rodgers, as posted by The Herald Scotland. “At the time, you had Callum and Kieran (Tierney). Certainly, whichever one went, then the other one was never going to get away. Obviously, Kieran was the one who left.

“Callum, for me, was someone who was perfect for the Premier League. He could come in and impose how I wanted to play and understand how I wanted to work, and could play in different positions. He’s tactically brilliant. But I’m really glad he stayed now! I’m very happy he’s the captain.

“There’s no question I rate him highly. People talk about Broony and say that he’d never cope in the Premier League. What my experiences of both leagues tell me is he’d have played in a top six team in the Premier League, and Callum is the same.”