OPINION
Matt Murray was made to look foolish by Aston Villa’s John McGinn on Saturday as the midfielder didn’t live up to the pundit’s claim about him during the win over West Bromwich Albion.
The former Wolves player shared that he thought the 24-year-old Villan was good enough to play in the Premier League next season and would be in England’s top-flight regardless of whether Dean Smith’s side win promotion.
“I’m sure McGinn will be playing in the Premier League next season with or without Villa as he is a top top player,” said Murray on talkSPORT (Saturday May 11th, 12:37) while commentating on Villa’s 2-1 win over the Baggies.
While it’s easy to see why Murray made the remarks as McGinn has looked the real deal in the majority of his 46 outings this season, he picked the wrong day to reveal his high opinion of the 24-year-old.
This is because the Villans midfielder struggled to have any real impact against the Baggies and it was arguably his worst performance for the club since joining in the summer.
McGinn seemed unable to hold onto possession, didn’t seem to pick out the right pass and went large parts of the game without doing too much to help.
With this in mind, McGinn looked miles away from being a player destined for the Premier League on Saturday, let alone one who would find a way to get in the top-flight even if his side stumbled.
Whether it was the curse of the commentator is debatable, but what is clear is that Murray’s claim was made to look foolish as McGinn was woeful against WBA on Saturday and lucky to be on the winning side.