Aston Villa secured the long-term future of another key figure this week, with John McGinn putting pen to paper on a new contract to extend his stay with us.
As per the club’s statement, the 28-year-old has committed his future to us until 2027, and as he targets further improvement and development under Unai Emery – like so many others in the current squad – our ambitions and expectations continue to grow.
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Unsurprisingly, McGinn was thrilled to agree new terms, and he added to the level of excitement in terms of what we can target, and potentially achieve, in the next four years.
“I’m delighted to get it sorted, this is home for me now,” he said, as per VillaTV. “I’m really excited to be a part of what should be a really exciting journey.
“If we perform like we did in the second half of the season, there’s no reason why we can’t compete for trophies. That’s what the club needs to aim for. We need to get success back – European football is part of that but the club needs trophies. The fans crave it.”
For some, Villa’s slow-burning start to the summer transfer window has led to frustration, but having already landed Youri Tielemans on a free transfer, with McGinn’s future secure and Matt Maher reporting that Ollie Watkins could be next very soon, there is clear and sensible planning happening at the club.
If Emery’s methods on the pitch are anything to go by, he and his team as well as the management hierarchy will be meticulous and certain in what they want to do this summer in relation to the calibre of player we are targeting to help us take the next step forward.
With an emphasis on quality over quantity, deals aren’t going to get done immediately, albeit that would be an ideal scenario, and so patience will be needed as we continue to identify transfer targets and look to secure agreements.
Monchi’s arrival as President of Football Operations next month will undoubtedly help speed up that process, but for now, Villa are assessing their options and will only make signings that significantly improve us.
In the meantime, they’re also doing a superb job of securing the futures of key players who form the core of our squad in the coming years.
McGinn joins Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Martinez, John McGinn, Matty Cash, Cameron Archer and Tim Iroegbunam in being under contract until 2027, while Douglas Luiz, Emiliano Buendia, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno are with us until 2026.
As noted above, Watkins will hopefully be next to extend, with his current deal set to expire in 2025, and so that leaves Leon Bailey [2025] as the only regular starter in the squad who will face contract questions heading into next summer.
It’s the smart way to build a foundation at a club, and that in turn then allows Emery et al to calmly sit down, assess the squad and identify what we need to become increasingly competitive across multiple fronts, and also who can be moved on to create space for those incomings.
Having done such a superb job in coaching these players up and taking their respective games to the next level last season, Emery’s superior coaching qualities have come to the fore and gotten so much more out of some of the key individuals in the Villa team who were previously struggling.
With long-term deals in place, we’re in a healthy position to build something under the Spanish tactician over the next three to four years, and the club deserve a lot of credit for having a proactive vision and plan in place to hopefully set us up for success in the Emery era.
