Aston Villa ace John McGinn gives Unai Emery reason to ponder more attacking role as midfielder excels for Scotland
John McGinn has proven his worth in a more attacking role for Scotland in recent times, and that could persuade Unai Emery to adopt a similar approach at Aston Villa.
McGinn scored his nation’s opening goal in their 3-0 Euro 2024 qualifier win against Cyprus on Saturday (25 March) while playing in attacking midfield.
As well as his usual spot in the centre for Aston Villa, he has been playing both right and left midfield, but there is certainly plenty of justification for Emery to play him as an attacking midfielder.
Since August 2022, McGinn has scored three goals in five games for his country, but none in 25 appearances for his club, according to Match of the Day.
Moreover, he has been directly involved in 22 goals for Scotland under current manager Steve Clarke, with 16 goals and six assists. It’s more than twice as many as any other player in that period, according to OptaJoe.
Discussing McGinn’s goal against Cyprus, pundit Alan Hutton reported live on BBC Sport: “It’s a great finish back post. I was at Aston Villa when he came down from Hibs and he’s come on leaps and bounds since then. He’s taken everything in his stride. I love watching him play for Scotland. He’s got that extra bit of energy.”
While McGinn is an accomplished defensive and central midfielder, it would make plenty of sense for the Scot to be pushed further forward under Emery.
As well as his ability to find the back of the net, more attacking responsibility would leave the two central midfield spots in Emery’s trusted 4-2-3-1 formation free for more defensive-minded players.
Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara are the current duo trusted in those two positions, but Emery is reportedly keen on bringing Leeds United loanee Weston McKennie to Villa Park this summer [TuttoSport].
The club are short of such midfielders, and while McGinn has the ability and energy needed to thrive in the role, he is also a potent goalscorer and a potentially valuable source of goals.
Also of great significance is the complete burden on striker Ollie Watkins to find the net for Villa. He has 10 for the season, with Danny Ings his nearest competitor with seven. The latter has, of course, left for West Ham.
With his latest goal, McGinn has climbed into seventh place in Scotland’s all-time goalscoring list, with his tally of 16 set to rise and rise in the coming years thanks to a combination of his attacking role and prowess in the final third.
Emery would certainly be wise to at least consider such a proposition for McGinn as the manager looks to take his Villa side to the next level.