John McGinn has confirmed that a transfer to Dundee United did indeed fall through when the midfielder was at St Mirren.
And the Scotland hero has revealed that United opted to sign someone instead who ended up playing just 18 minutes of football at Tannadice.
McGinn began to make a name for himself at the Buddies and was the subject of transfer interest from Dundee United in 2015 as a result.
This was brought to light by United chairman Stephen Thompson only a few weeks ago, who said the Terrors made a bid of £60k for McGinn.
But Thompson said St Mirren were looking for £150k and so consulted then-United manager Jackie McNamara, who told Thompson he didn’t want to sign McGinn.
Dundee United signed Rodney Sneijder over McGinn
Now, McGinn has backed up what Thompson said and told Premier Sports show The Scottish Football Social Club that United chose to sign Wesley Sneijder’s brother Rodney instead.
And the Aston Villa star joked that looking back, that was a “tough moment” in his career.
McGinn explained: “What I was happy to hear was Stephen Thompson did an interview last week and admitted that he never signed me and signed Rodney Sneijder instead. That was a tough moment in my career!
“I told all my pals I was signing for Dundee United and I remember speaking to my agent and he said, ‘yep it’s close to being done’.
“And then I phoned him the next day and he said, ‘they are just not answering the phone.’ So they completely just went cold.
“And then the next day, Rodney Sneijder was announced and that’s when I knew I wasn’t signing for Dundee United. And then I went to Hibs.”
Sneijder’s time at Tannadice didn’t work out
Of course, McGinn can laugh now given he went on to shine for Hibs and secure a money-spinning £3.5m transfer to Aston Villa in 2018.
But it looks incredibly embarrassing on Dundee United’s part that they chose Rodney Sneijder over the man who is now Scotland’s fifth-highest scorer of all-time and playing regular Champions League football.
Sneijder joined Dundee United in 2015 as a free agent and penned a two-year deal with the club. But he ended up playing just 18 minutes of football and his contract was terminated weeks later.
It was reported at the time that he was suffering from a viral infection and returned to the Netherlands on medical grounds.
As quoted by BBC Sport Scotland, McNamara told the Dundee United website at the time: “This is the best solution for Rodney first and foremost. We have a responsibility to protect the player’s health moving forward and respect his current situation.
“Everyone at Dundee United wishes Rodney all the very best for the future. The club will replace any replica shirt which has been purchased from Dundee United Direct and customised with the player’s name.”