Aston Villa captain John McGinn is reportedly close to signing a new contract with the club to extend his stay with us.
The 30-year-old joined Villa from Hibernian in 2018, and he has since gone on to make 295 appearances for the club, scoring 33 goals and providing 41 assists in that time.
Beyond the numbers though, he has been a fundamental part of our progress in recent years having gained promotion from the Championship, established ourselves as a Premier League side again before going on to qualify for the Champions League.
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With plenty left in the tank and more objectives to achieve, it’s undoubtedly hoped that he has a number of years still at Villa ahead of him, and according to The Telegraph’s John Percy, the Scottish international is close to signing a new Villa contract, which in turn should end speculation over his future given interest was touted in him this past summer.
Given his tenacity, energy, versatility, leadership and ability to set the tone for the side along with his influence off the pitch, McGinn is an integral presence and figure in the current squad, and he will continue to be a pivotal player moving forward when he eventually has to pass on the baton to others arriving at the club.
He has shown his importance again in recent weeks as he’s played a decisive role in helping us get out of our slump, and so seeing him put pen to paper on a new contract will be another timely lift for all concerned, and it should allow Unai Emery to continue to build around his pillars in the squad, rather than worry about having to replace them in the upcoming transfer windows.
Along with Tyrone Mings in particular but also with the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins, Villa have still got the core of the side in tact, and while there is an argument in favour of building for the future sooner rather than later so we don’t leave ourselves with major voids to fill further down the road, in the more immediate future, it’s imperative that we continue to strengthen around these key individuals and securing their long-term futures will be a huge boost.