Aston Villa boss, Steve Bruce might have prepared himself for the eventual departure of Jack Grealish this summer by going after Hibernian midfielder, John McGinn. The latter has been attracting attention from a number of Scottish and English sides but none look more desperate for his services than the Villans.
Grealish is a key component in the Villa lineup and will reportedly bring in £30m-£40m if sold. His transfer money can be used to rebalance the books at Villa Park and will also leave room for a £5m addition in McGinn. The 23-year-old plays in a similar position as Grealish and is one of the best creative talents in the Scottish Premiership.
Aston Villa’s failure to earn promotion to the English top-flight has left the club in a very difficult spot ahead of the 2018/19 campaign. The Premier League would have added around £170m in advertisement revenue.
Now, Bruce has to cut the wage bill in half before he can take charge of the upcoming campaign with whatever’s left of the current team. The club’s owner, Tony Xia has been funding the side with £6m seed payments each month but is currently finding it difficult to pull money out of China.
He has also just suspended the club’s chief operative, Keith Wyness after a reported fallout over the unpaid £5m tax bill. The Clarets and Blues will have to overcome innumerable obstacles this summer which could leave the squad severely depleted.
McGinn could be an ideal addition to help with the transition since all Bruce will be left with are a core group of young players all graduates of the club’s academy. The Hibs midfielder is a playmaker with all the right attributes to succeed in the English game.
He has been with the Scottish outfit for three seasons now and still has 12 months left in his current contract. The 23-year-old appeared in 46 games last term to score 6 and further 8 assists and help the Cabbage to the 4th spot of the Scottish Premiership.
John McGinn has been prolific this past season and deservedly has caught the eyes of clubs north of the border. He is currently out on international duty for Scotland, recording 9 senior caps already and 12 for the country’s youth sides.
When asked about the growing interest in the player, Hibernian Chief Executive, Leeann Dempster said, “We don’t live and die by transfer fees. If we were to receive a transfer fee for a player of some significance, of course, that would be welcome.”
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This should give Bruce the motivation to put forth a sizeable bid and wipe out the competition for the midfielder’s services.
