Why John McGinn deserves a new deal at Aston Villa
According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has hinted at a new and improved contract for star midfielder John McGinn at Villa Park. The 26-year-old has been a key player for the Villans over the past three seasons and it has been reported that the Midlands outfit could move quickly to reward him with fresh terms in the near future.
Profile
John McGinn started his professional career with St. Mirren in Scotland during the 2012-13 season and went on to make 98 appearances for the club in all competitions, registering 4 goals and 7 assists in the process. He then took a step down to join Hibernian in the Scottish Championship in 2015 and guided the Edinburgh club to the Scottish Cup crown in his debut season.
The 26-year-old was a key part of the Hibernian side that won promotion to the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2016-17 season. McGinn amassed an impressive tally of 17 goals and 29 assists in 136 appearances for the Easter Road outfit before completing a move to Aston Villa in the EFL Championship.
McGinn quickly established himself as a key player at Villa Park and went on to accumulate 7 goals and 9 assists in 43 league appearances in 2018-19 as the Villans secured promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs. The Glasgow-born enforcer made a seamless transition to the top-flight last season before having his progress thwarted by a dreadful shin injury.
The 26-year-old, though, returned to action following the lockdown. He finished the season with 3 goals and 3 assists in 28 league appearances as Villa successfully survived relegation. McGinn has started and played the full 90 minutes in each of Villa’s six opening fixtures in the Premier League so far this season, scoring once and supplying four assists.
McGinn remains a key cog in Villa’s midfield cavalry
The Villans have registered 4 wins in their first 6 games, including a 7-2 rout of reigning champions, Liverpool, back in October.
While Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley have stolen much of the limelight, John McGinn has continued to rack up some impressive numbers of his own.
McGinn has already played every minute of Villa’s Premier League campaign so far, which clearly shows that he has recovered fully from the long-term injury he suffered last season. The Scottish international has also contributed with a goal and 4 assists, thus putting him right up there with the most significant goal contributors in the side.
Villa hardly have another box-to-box midfielder who encapsulates the same range of qualities as McGinn. Douglas Luiz has largely operated in a defensive midfield role while Conor Hourihane, though, a more offensive-minded option, doesn’t come anywhere close to McGinn in terms of dynamism.
The Scotsman has been deployed as a No.6, No.8 and No.10 at Villa Park over the past three seasons. Hence, he’s someone who offers the manager quality cover in more than one area in the midfield. McGinn’s overall tally of 12 goals and 17 assists in 81 appearances for Villa is certainly very impressive for a player who’s not an out-and-out attacking midfielder by trade.
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Verdict
Aston Villa initiated a contract renewal drive to tie key players like Grealish and Tyrone Mings down to new deals. John McGinn still has several years remaining on his existing deal but the Scotsman’s service to the club is surely deserving of an improved contract.
McGinn still has his best years ahead of him at 26. Hence, Villa definitely need to keep hold of him at all costs. They can re-establish themselves as a top-half side after narrowly avoiding relegation last season. A new deal for the Scottish international would be a shrewd piece of business. It is expected to pay off handsomely for their long-term plans.
