It’s not the type of rumour any Villa fan wants to read, but there are renewed reports citing Manchester United’s interest in John McGinn.
This is one of the pitfalls of Villa being a club trying to implement a strategy of continuous improvement, in that the teams above you don’t want to break into their monopoly. United, who find themselves increasingly on the periphery of the domestic elite, let alone the european top table, are now scrambling to be competitive again.
Indeed, the recent FA Cup and Premier League fixtures against United underlined not only Villa’s incremental improvement, but shone a light on Ralf Rangnick’s sides decline.
Perversely, it’s arguably a good sign that other clubs are looking enviously and coveting players within the Villa squad. As fans, we can count on one hand how often that’s happened in the modern era; Yorke, Benteke, Barry, Milner and of course more recently, Jack Grealish. The test going forward is whether Villa can match the ambitions with any potential suitor, resist them and ultimately retain our top talent.
SUPER JOHN MCGINN
Embed from Getty ImagesThere’s no doubt about it, McGinn is currently a key part in a Villa squad that with the arrival of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne is on the ascendancy.
The Scottish captain, a central figure in Villa’s 2019 promotion, has continued to develop and hone his game to the rigours of Premier League life. Despite struggling towards the end of the Dean Smith reign earlier this season, McGinn’s form has shown a resurgence having been unshackled by new boss Steven Gerrard.
It’s no surprise therefore that United’s interest has been stoked in the 27 year old, who has been valued in the region of £40m, with the former Hibs man’s unique midfield style often catching the eye. McGinn is a throwback in terms of his physicality, which shouldn’t detract from the fact he has an excellent range of passing as well as an eye for goal.
Times are changing at Villa Park though, and it would be overly simplistic to make comparisons to the loss of Grealish to Manchester City. Grealish was understandably beguiled by the immediacy of silverware, which given that City look likely to run away with the league title, it appears that he’ll get what he wanted. The McGinn link is most certainly not about cash either. Though Villa benefitted from the £100m transfer fee from Pep Guardiola, easing the FFP pathway for future purchases, we are fortunate to have wealthy owners and no need to sell. Any move will be driven by the player’s personal aspirations here and now, rather than money.
Another element of reassurance is that United are not remotely the force they were, nor do they carry the aura they once did. There is a striking similarity to the Liverpool sides of the 1990’s and early 2000’s that went through painful phases of underachievement, ownership resentment and hapless managerial decisions. In short, United aren’t the alluring move that presents as an offer a player simply cannot refuse.
However, we mustn’t get above our station. The Villa project remains in its infancy and this season won’t so much as include a cup run, let alone a challenge towards the upper part of the division. It’s up to Villa to continue to demonstrate improvement, assemble the players to sustain it and ensure McGinn (and others) see their long term future and successes are in B6.
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