Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Thu 9 April 2026 10:10, UK

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has stood out as Bologna’s biggest fear ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.

Unai Emery’s side makes the trip to Emilia-Romagna having not played a competitive minute in almost three weeks, while they are looking to hit form before the season’s crunch point.

The Villans secured their spot in the quarter-finals before the international break, with a convincing 3-0 aggregate win against Ligue 1 outfit Lille.

With the two sides preparing to do battle in Italy on Thursday, those within the Bologna camp have earmarked Villa captain McGinn as someone to look out for.

John McGin earmarked as huge threat for Bologna

Recently returning from injury, McGinn has already had a big impact since his reintroduction to the side.

Scoring a fantastic opener in the win against West Ham on the eve of the international break, the Scotsman has taken his place once again as one of the most important men under Emery.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the first leg, Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano was full of praise for the Scotsman.

“McGinn, I think, in the first match was a winger, and then in the last match was a midfielder,” said Italiano, referencing the previous two encounters between the sides.

“He is a very intelligent player, and their coach, when he needs him to play in different positions, does that. He is good at shooting from far and attacks deep into the goal. We will see what position he is in tomorrow, and then we will see what to do,” concluded the Bologna boss.

Alongside the praise from the boss, Scotland teammate and Rossoblu captain Lewis Ferguson quickly echoed the thoughts.

“We played together for three or four years in the national team. As you know, he is a strong player and captain of the team,” said the skipper.

“He scored two goals against us. I know him very well, and tomorrow, in the midfield, it will be a big challenge.

“He’s a top player and a top guy. They are a side filled with players at the top level and have a top manager too. We believe that we have a squad here that can do something special.”

John McGinn is incredibly important to Aston Villa

It goes without saying that any player who spends the amount of time that McGinn has at Villa must be important to that club.

This is most definitely the case when it comes to McGinn, who has proven irreplaceable even as the Villans have continued to up their levels both in the league and in Europe.

Starting in the middle of the park, McGinn has since taken on a role out wide under Emery – a role in which he has thrived.

As demonstrated in the graphic provided by Sofascore below, the 31-year-old is simply everywhere for Emery.

When watching the Scotman, his unique dribbling style makes him look incredibly difficult to steal the ball from, while his ability to drive with the ball from deeper areas adds a whole new dimension of threat in comparison to the rather uninspiring possession seen in recent weeks.

Alongside his wonderful opener from range, McGinn completed six carries against West Ham before the break, with his non-stop energy also making him a fantastic asset in possession, being readily available across the park at any time of need.

Always being an outlet, McGinn is one of the more capable in the Villa squad when it comes to altering the tempo and state of a match – something that could prove crucial in Italy as Bologna look to steal a result to bring to Birmingham.

Upon his return from injury, Emery has one of, if not his, most important men back, while the Rossoblu will likely be wishing that the upcoming tie came during his layoff.