John McGinn’s best moments for Aston Villa as captain closes in on new contract agreement
Aston Villa are set to keep their captain at Villa Park for several years to come, with an agreement close to completion.
John McGinn is set to sign a new contract at Villa, which may well see the midfielder spend more than a decade in claret and blue.
The Scot signed for the Villans in 2018, joining from Hibernian in a deal worth around £2.5million – a fee that has looked better and better with each season gone.
Newcastle United attempted to sign McGinn in the summer, but all of the Magpies’ attempts were batted away with Unai Emery intent on keeping the 30-year-old in his team.
Here, Villa News remembers some of McGinn‘s best moments from his seven years at Villa Park so far.
John McGinn’s stunning Villa Park introduction
McGinn became the first Villa player to score in all three European competitions when he found the net against Bologna in September.
The midfielder has always had a knack for a goal, but none of his 33 for the Villans can compare to the very first.
The Scot was making just his fifth-ever appearance at Villa Park when Sheffield Wednesday arrived to take on a struggling Villa in September 2018.
The visitors had taken the lead in the 49th minute, but it would be what happened just four minutes later that would catch all of the headlines.
Meeting the Wednesday defender’s headed clearance on the volley, McGinn’s 25-yard volley would be struck so sweetly that its trajectory did not change as it flew onto the underside of the bar and in.
It was a stunning moment and a stunning goal, and one that will always be remembered at Villa Park.
McGinn sends Villa up
McGinn’s first season at Villa had its ups and downs. The Villans had started the season woefully, leading to the sacking of Steve Bruce in October 2018.
Dean Smith was hired as his replacement, with the club sitting 15th in the Championship and with little chance of promotion.
| John McGinn | Aston Villa |
| Appearances | 295 |
| Goals | 33 |
| Assists | 41 |
Results took their time to come, but when they did, they came in abundance – Villa won 10 of their final 12 Championship games and qualified for the play-offs in fifth.
A narrow semi-final victory over West Brom on penalties would set up the final against Derby at Wembley, and it was there that McGinn would cement himself among the Villa faithful’s favourites.
Anwar El Ghazi‘s opener had put Villa in a commanding position, with McGinn’s sneaky second-half header ultimately sending Smith’s side into the Premier League.
Champions League heroics on historic Villa night
McGinn had gone from the Championship to the Champions League in his six years at Villa, and he marked the achievement with a stunning display on what would be an incredible Villa Park night.
Emery’s side were down when they welcomed PSG for the second leg of the quarter-finals, but they were not out.
Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes’ quickfire goals looked as if they had indeed sent the Villans out, however, but McGinn was not ready to see his team go down without a fight.
The Scot found Youri Tielemans to half the deficit in the first half, before a driving run and his own deflected strike would put Villa back on terms in the second half.
Ezri Konsa‘s winner on the night would not be enough to overturn the aggregate deficit, but it was a night, against the side who would ultimately become Champions League winners, that truly cemented Villa’s return to the big time.
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