Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard could reportedly be willing to cash in on midfielder John McGinn this summer, amid reports linking the player with a departure.
What’s the word?
As per Football Insider, the Midlands side are said to be open to listening to offers for the Scotland international, with Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur having been heavily linked with a move in recent months.
The report suggests that the 27-year-old is not considered an ‘untouchable’ at Villa Park despite his regular starting role over the past few years, with Gerrard said to be ‘not totally convinced’ by the 48-cap maestro.
The suggestion is that the former Hibernian man – who made the move to England on a reported £2.75m deal in 2018 during Steve Bruce’s tenure – is somewhat difficult to manage behind the scenes, as per the report, hence the potential desire to move him on.
Gerrard’s biggest mistake
It has been proven a hugely impressive transfer window for the Villans thus far, with four major signings having already been confirmed and further deals potentially in the works.
That being said, however, the Villa boss could risk overshadowing that strong early business by allowing the influential McGinn to depart prior to the start of next term, with it no doubt set to be a notable mistake were the ambitious club set to cash in on the £28.8m-rated playmaker.
Since making the switch four years ago, the £70k-per-week machine has proven an invaluable asset to the club, having scored 16 goals and provided 23 assists in 147 games across all competitions, including registering 21 goal contributions in 100 Premier League appearances over the last three seasons.
The most recent campaign saw the Glasgow-born ace chip in with three goals and four assists in the top-flight from his 35 league outings – all of which had come as starts – while also averaging an impressive three tackles and one interception per game.
That all-action approach has seen him come in for praise from pundit Joe Cole, with the former England international stating: “He’s one of them that if you speak to anyone around Aston Villa and they love him.
“He’s a character, a leader. I was chatting to him and he’s really excited about having Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister as well. Two midfielders he’s soaking up knowledge from. He’s an all round midfielder. Forget what he does off the ball, on the ball he does everything. He’s got tenacity, he wins the ball back and he brings that to the team.
“And when you couple that with the other side of his game, he’s got lovely close control. He’s as strong as an ox and he picks the right pass. He’s well drilled, he runs forward, sets up goals and to add on top of that and it’s something midfielders neglect these days, he knows where the goal is.”
Such a glowing assessment illustrates just how highly regarded the 5 foot 10 warrior is, with it something of a headscratcher that Gerrard and co would even contemplate a sale, even as they plot a new midfield addition.
The suggestion for most supporters would have been that any new arrivals – including recent signing Boubacar Kamara – would have been added to complement McGinn and to build an exciting midfield around him, yet this latest news would suggest that such deals could in fact be hastening his exit.
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