John McGinn reveal at Aston Villa leaves talkSPORT host in shock – ‘That’s nuts…’
TalkSPORT host Andy Goldstein was left shocked by a John McGinn statistic revealed to him by co-host and former Aston Villa striker Darren Bent.
The current campaign marks McGinn’s seventh consecutive term in Villa colours, after he joined the club during the summer of 2018, following a four-season stint with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.
McGinn has established himself as a key figure at Villa Park, and this season has been no different, as he has made 24 appearances and 21 starts for Unai Emery’s men in the Premier League.
The Scotland international has also made seven Champions League appearances this term and has notched two goals and one assist in the tournament so far.
Goldstein surprised by one aspect of McGinn’s Premier League season
Villa enjoyed an incredible top-flight campaign last term as they defied expectations to land a Champions League spot.
But Emery’s men sit 10th in the Premier League with 10 games left to play this time around, which arguably shows the difficulty of juggling Champions League responsibilities alongside that of the Premier League.
However, the Villa faithful were left ecstatic in Belgium on Tuesday when their side defeated Club Brugge 3-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Europe.
| John McGinn stats | 2024/25 Premier League season |
| Appearances | 24 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 3 |
Speaking ahead of that game, talkSPORT host Goldstein was shocked by one aspect of Villa captain McGinn’s Premier League season revealed to him by Bent.
“This season, [McGinn] has no goals in the Premier League,” Bent said [5.23pm, 4 March].
Goldstein was taken aback by that as he replied: “Wow, that’s nuts. For someone of his quality, that’s not good enough.”
McGinn and Villa can enjoy another historic season
Just last season, McGinn impressed by scoring six goals in 35 Premier League appearances from midfield, and such exploits helped his side clinch a Champions League spot.
Last season’s attacking output of six goals and four assists in the top flight marked the Scotland international’s best league return since he scored six goals and created nine assists during the 2018/19 Championship campaign.
Therefore, the fact that he is yet to score in the Premier League this term will have likely been on McGinn’s mind even before it was questioned by talkSPORT’s Goldstein.
However, after Villa secured their current Champions League status last season, they could be in for yet another historic campaign as they are on the verge of reaching the quarter-finals where they will face either PSG or Liverpool.
Despite his lack of goals in the Premier League this term, captain McGinn deserves credit for his contributions this season, not least because he has scored in the Champions League twice.