Everton have reportedly made a bid for Aston Villa captain John McGinn in the summer transfer window.
On the one hand, David Moyes is underlining his intentions. Since returning to the Toffees hot seat, Moyes has made it clear he wants the club to return to the upper echelons of the Premier League. That is where Everton were when he departed in 2013, with his teams regularly challenging for European qualification.
McGinn is the sort of player that would help fast-track the Blues back to that position. The Aston Villa midfielder has a linchpin from his side's rise from the Championship to the Champions League. McGinn has made 285 appearances for Villa, recording 30 goals and 40 assists, having operated in various positions. He would add experience, nous and quality in abundance.
However, there may be some who feel that trying to sign McGinn is an exercise in futility. He is Villa's captain and an integral member of the dressing room. Granted, his game-time may not be as prominent in previous years but he still has a significant role to play. In addition, with Unai Emery's side set to compete in the Europa League, rather than Europe's elite club competition, there is more scope for player rotation.
Whether Everton's attempt to sign McGinn continues remains to be seen. Although Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has arrived from Chelsea for £25 million, Moyes likely still feel he's slightly short in the engine room, with Idrissa Gana Gueye and James Garner the only other options with significant Premier League experience.
Stubbs’ recommendation
What can be agreed is that McGinn would improve Everton markedly. Someone who will definitely concur is Alan Stubbs. The former Blues captain had McGinn as a player when manager of Hibernian, with the pair winning the Scottish Championship together in 2016. And Stubbs tried to do his boyhood club a favour - by recommending that they snapped up an unheralded McGinn for just £3 million two years later.
"I spoke to Everton when it became clear that Leann Dempster (then Hibs chief executive) was looking to lure one of the big boys to come and sign him,” Stubbs said via the Edinburgh Evening News. “I told Everton to make the investment because I knew he would be a very good player and they could get him for £3 million. What’s he worth now? £40 million-plus?Typical Everton, they didn’t do it and now Aston Villa are reaping the benefits.”
Signed for a snip
After McGinn joined Villa, Stubbs said: “I was at Celtic Park on Wednesday night and I didn’t leave the ground until late so I was still in the car park when I took a phone call from John. He thanked me for everything I’d done for him, which was very nice but I told him: ‘Don’t thank me – thank yourself because you’re the one who’s done this’. But that sums him up as a person and I’m delighted for him. I wish him all the best and I believe that, at that price, he’s the snip of this transfer window.”
Sky Sports suggests that Villa have no interest in selling McGinn, who is also reportedly wanted by Newcastle United.
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