Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn will be “desperate” to prove himself to new manager Unai Emery.
That is the opinion of journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to This Is Futbol about the latest news from Villa Park.
McGinn has been dropped from the starting lineup in Villa’s last two fixtures, with interim manager Aaron Danks taking charge of the games in between Steven Gerrard’s sacking at Unai Emery’s arrival at Villa Park.
The 28-year-old, who has previously been dubbed a “warrior”, had been appointed club captain this summer, after former manager Gerrard chose to strip Tyrone Mings of the armband in favour of the Scotland midfielder.
But O’Rourke believes that McGinn will be trying to make an impact in the hope that Emery puts him back in the starting XI.
He said: “John McGinn, obviously being club captain there, he’ll be desperate to make an impact and prove himself to Unai Emery that he deserves to be back in that team.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments…
Whilst we do believe that McGinn will be giving his all to try and get back into the Villa lineup for this weekend’s clash with Manchester United, we think it’ll be easier said than done to convince the new manager.
Despite making 13 Premier League appearances for Villa so far this season, the 51-time Scotland international has been unable to provide so much as a goal or assist from midfield, implying that he may be unable to provide the creativity Villa need in the middle of the park.
Therefore, we think that McGinn may have to wait in the wings for his next start at Villa Park, where he will have to grasp the opportunity to become a regular under Emery.