Aston Villa star John McGinn would be a £50 million “bargain” for Premier League rivals Liverpool, former Hibernian teammate Paul Hanlon has told The Sun.
As speculation surrounding the future of captain fantastic Jack Grealish goes into overdrive, Villa really could have done without this.
According to The Athletic, Jurgen Klopp has identified Scottish scrapper McGinn as one of the leading candidates to replace Gini Wijnaldum at Liverpool.
A bouncing ball of energy and aggression, the 26-year-old would continue a proud tradition of Scottish footballers at Anfield, following in the footsteps of Andy Robertson, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness, to name but a few.
Aston Villa were never going to let McGinn leave on the cheap, however, particularly with Grealish’s future also shrouded in uncertainty.
Is John McGinn worth £50m for Liverpool?
The Athletic reports it would take £50 million to sign a man who cost Villa just shy of £3 million when he arrived from Hibernian in 2018.
“£50 million – that’s a bargain, eh?” Hanlon says of a man who knows McGinn better than most. “Nobody who has worked with John is surprised how he constantly steps up.
“It’s his character. He is humble and down to earth but he has that determination to succeed and confidence in his own ability at the same time – and you see that when he plays.
“He’s a dream for football fans really. He is the one who gets you off your seat and excited. I’m sure if he did get another move he would be exactly the same player as he is at Aston Villa.
“If he managed to earn himself a move like that (to Liverpool), in my eyes it would be fully deserved for what he’s done for Aston Villa and Scotland.”
Klopp described McGinn as a “super player” in 2019 and his admiration only grew when the old-school enforcer orchestrated Aston Villa’s famous 7-2 victory over the then-Premier League champions in October.
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