West Ham’s gain is Sunderland’s loss with John McGinn move looking likely

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David Moyes was close to bringing John McGinn to Sunderland in the summer but now a move to Premier League giants West Ham looks likely.

John McGinn’s big break could be just around the corner.

The Scottish international has been turning heads for Hibernian ever since his 2015 move from St Mirren but it seems that his time at Easter Road might be coming to an end.

The Daily Record reported at the weekend that West Ham assistant manager Billy McKinlay was in the stands as McGinn helped Hibernian to an impressive 2-0 win against Aberdeen with a move to the London Stadium seemingly in the pipeline.

West Ham were linked back in January and David Moyes has made no secret about his desire to sign a dynamic and energetic central midfielder. McGinn, a 23-year-old who combines tenacity and technique, certainly fits the bill.

West Ham’s gain, however, is very much Sunderland’s loss.

According to The Chronicle, Moyes was very keen to bring McGinn to the Stadium of Light as he started to put plans in place for an immediate return to the Premier League after their relegation upon the conclusion of the 2016/17 season.

And pundit Steven Thompson told BBC’s Sportscene Live that McGinn would more than likely have been a Sunderland player now had Moyes not suddenly resigned right at the start of the summer transfer window.

With the Black Cats second from bottom in the Championship and facing successive relegations, they could hardly dream of signing a player of McGinn’s quality now, especially for a fee of around £5 million.