Club – Aston Villa
Nationality - Scottish
Age - 24
Height – 181 cm
Position – Centre Midfield
League Career Stats
2012/2013 – St Mirren – Scottish Premiership – 22 apps 1 goal
2013/2014 – St Mirren – Scottish Premiership – 35 apps 3 goals
2014/2015 – St Mirren – Scottish Premiership – 30 apps 0 goals
2015/2016 – Hibs – Scottish Championship – 36 apps 3 goals
2016/2017 – Hibs – Scottish Championship – 29 apps 4 goals
2017/2018 – Hibs – Scottish Premiership – 35 apps 5 goals
2018/2019 – Aston Villa – English Championship – 43 apps 7 goals
Overview
I generally try to profile lesser known players on the site, but given the wonderful/ridiculous rumours of a £50 million pound move to Man Utd I couldn’t resist taking a look at John McGinn. Vastly experienced with over 200 appearances at the age of 24, McGinn didn’t get as much attention as Jack Grealish but was arguably as important in Villa’s promotion this season. A pretty typical box-to-box midfielder he’s a great all-round player and looks like being first choice in the national team going forward. Let’s have a look in more detail into the good and bad parts of McGinn’s game.
Strengths
Ball control/body use – There must be a proper technical term for this, but McGinn may just be the best in the world at using his backside to shield the ball from the opposition. He has the awareness and balance to use his body to shield the ball and muscle his marker aside, which allows him to control the ball and lay it off or spin and drive past his man into space. He’s not a particularly skillful or technical dribbler, but he maintains excellent control of the ball and has the power to drive past players if given space to turn. It also allows him to receive the ball in tight spaces which is particularly useful at international level when Scotland often struggle to play out from the back.
Goalscoring – McGinn would usually chip in with a few goals at Hibs, but he improved on this last season with a career high 7 league goals. He has a knack for spectacular goals and scoring important goals, including the winner in the play-off final for Villa last season and a Semi-final winner for Hibs against St Johnstone in 2016. He’s at his best making late runs from deep to get on the end of crosses or cutbacks to score from the edge of the area. I can’t let this section go without forgetting THAT volley against Sheffield Wednesday – check it out in the video below.
Crossing- Admittedly playing in central midfield does limit his opportunities to cross the ball, McGinn has an excellent delivery. He was particularly dangerous last season on the counter for Aston Villa, driving forward on the left flank and delivering a great ball between the defence and the goalkeeper making it easier for the striker to attack it. Equally effective on the right wing cutting back onto his left foot and delivering an in-swinging cross, it played a large part in his 8 assists in the league last season.
Weaknesses
Defensive ability – McGinn’s defensive effectiveness can be split into two phases. He can be quite effective when pressing and putting pressure on the opposition, forcing mistakes and winning the ball on average 7 times per game and mostly in the opposition half. However, when he’s forced to defend reactively and deeper, he does tend to struggle. He has a tendency to lose concentration which can allow his marker to run free and also struggles to time his tackles well. He picked up 14 yellow cards last season and if he continues to commit rash challenges he could “improve” on that figure against better and faster players next season. A lot will depend on how Villa approach games next season and how much defending McGinn is asked to do. He has the strength and stamina to get back and cover, he just needs to improve his concentration and timing defensively.
Game Management – Hear me out on this one, McGinn does try to always be positive on the ball by passing progressively and make something happen. Most of his playing career has been spent playing for team who expect to dominate the game, and this is a positive thing. However, there will be more times this season for club and country where his team are on the back foot and need to simply keep possession or calm the game down. It’s not a case of changing his game too much but just learning how to manage the game better which will benefit his team more, particularly for Scotland.
Future Prospects
There is no doubt that McGinn is good enough to be a great player at the top level, yet its probably realistic to say he is not worth £50 million and a move to an elite club at this point. His club form has been better than his international form, mainly because Dean Smith knows how to get the best out of him, and he fits his style of play. Scotland still suffer from not having a defined style and cramming players into the side rather than playing in a way that suits the players. I fully expect him to step up and play well in the English Premiership, and if he can do that then maybe he will earn a move to a truly massive club in a year or two.
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