Aston Villa skipper John McGinn has been speaking about the club's difficult summer transfer window
Aston Villa captain John McGinn
Aston Villa captain John McGinn(Image: Getty Images)
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John McGinn never considered leaving Aston Villa during the summer, even before the club’s owners made it clear they wanted him to stay.
The Villa captain attracted interest from several clubs during the transfer window, with Everton even submitting a bid to sign him as part of their new era under compatriot David Moyes at Goodison Park.
A move to Merseyside would also have reunited McGinn with close friend and former Villa teammate Jack Grealish. However, the Scot is settled at the club he calls home, having spent seven years in Birmingham.
He marked his 300th appearance for Villa on Thursday night, having recently signed a new contract - a reward for his loyalty and commitment since joining from Hibernian in the summer of 2018.
"I had no thoughts really about leaving. It was a little bit of a confidence booster for me, at the age I am, that teams would be interested, but I think most clubs around the country were aware that we had to be in a selling position this summer, so no one was not safe from that, but no one was unavailable for transfer,” McGinn explained.
“But when my situation arose, the club made it clear from the first minute that I wasn't for sale and I was important here. I'm the captain, and I was valued still so highly. They made that clear.
“There was no sort of grey area. I was told right away, so from that day my head was completely fine. I trusted those that said it – the manager, Damian, Nassef, Wes – they were all clear that they wanted me to be around, and they still felt that I had so much more to give.
“So when you have that confidence, obviously it's still nice to get the interest and realise that you're still someone that other teams would potentially want, but when you feel so valued and loved here, then it really was a no-brainer just to completely park that, train and play, and trust that the club would sort it.
“And in fairness, they stood by their word as well. It's very easy these days for clubs to say one thing and do another, but they stuck to their word and made sure that after everything - which was really important for the club moving forward - was sorted, that they would concentrate on my situation, and thankfully, I managed to get it done.”
Aston Villa captain John McGinn
Aston Villa captain John McGinn(Image: Getty Images)
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Jacob Ramsey was Villa’s headline sale over the summer, with the academy graduate departing for £39 million plus add-ons.
Despite generating a substantial profit from the sale, Villa were still unable to make major purchases in the final weeks of the window, only bringing in loan signings Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho, as well as Victor Lindelof on a free transfer, alongside Marco Bizot and Evann Guessand.
“It was difficult. It was probably the most difficult summer, in terms of the fact we missed out on the Champions League in strange circumstances,” McGinn admits.
“Probably something that's been forgotten about is what an effort we put in the second half of the season. The manager spoke so many times about how close we were to actually getting it.
“So the hangover from that, still a little bit of anger from us as players and as a club, the implications of that decision and that result were huge. Granted, during that game (against Man United), we didn't turn up and didn't show our best.
“I think in the summer, it was a big wake-up call to everyone about how important these rules are. But then as players, it's important not to get sucked into that. I think it was a lot of uncertainty for players that left, players that stayed, and it certainly did affect us.
“It was tricky, but my job was to try and keep the players as focused as we possibly could. And I think we've recovered now, after a slow start to the season.”
Asked if that seeped into the dressing room at the start of the season, when Villa failed to win in their first five games, McGinn responded: “It could have been, but it's also probably an excuse for bad performances as well. It's very easy to just put the blame on that, but quite often it happens - pretty much every transfer window.
“It happened when I joined the club the year after we got promoted. I think we had around 12 new signings. That's probably as unsettling as any, so each window - January will be the same.
“There'll be players probably speaking about leaving, coming. Quite often, it's not as publicised as what it was, but I think with the new rules in place, it was a lot more publicised and probably harder to control from a media point of view.”
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