Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has praised Aston Villa’s John McGinn in an interview with Sky Sports.
Ritchie opted against joining up with Scotland’s squad some time ago when he was with Bournemouth, which means that he has missed out on playing for Steve Clarke’s side as they qualified for Euro 2020.
The £10 million Newcastle winger (Guardian) did enjoy watching his national team qualify for their first major tournament in over 20 years though, and the form of Villa midfielder McGinn was particularly pleasing for Ritchie.
“I like watching the games, the players I’ve played with, the wee man John McGinn is flying, and hopefully they can have some real success at the Euros,” he said.
“When I speak to John, he says how much every single player enjoys it. They love going, the culture they have within the group, and from the performances they give, you can see it.
They’re playing under enormous pressure, but you can see how much they enjoy it, they have a real way of playing, and they’ve had some real success so far.”
McGinn continues to earn admirers both with Villa and on the international stage.
The midfielder seems to play a more advanced role for his country and actually has an impressive scoring record, after finding the back of the net 10 times in 32 games for the Tartan Army.
McGinn doesn’t quite have as much attacking licence at Villa, but his energy and enthusiasm still makes him a key player for Dean Smith’s side.
And he will be hoping to bring his good form to the Euro’s in the summer, with Scotland drawn in the same group as England for the tournament.
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