Tony Mowbray says he looked at John McGinn before Aston Villa move

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John McGinn joined Aston Villa from Hibernian in the summer transfer window.

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray has told The Lancashire Telegraph that he looked at the possibility of signing John McGinn from Hibernian before the midfielder joined Aston Villa.

McGinn moved to Villa in the Championship in England from Scottish Premiership side Hibernian in the summer transfer window for a fee reported by The Lancashire Telegraph to be worth £4 million.

Blackburn boss Mowbray – who was in charge of Scottish club Hibernian from from 2004 until 2006 – has revealed that Rovers were looking at McGinn for a long time as well, and has also explained why he did not sign him.

Mowbray told The Lancashire Telegraph: “John McGinn is a good footballer and had been on our radar a long, long time.

“I know the people at Hibernian very, very well and there was a sense he was leaving. Celtic had been mooted a lot.

“John fell into a category of where we were going to spend some of the money, how much on this position, and at the early part I didn’t really see central midfield as somewhere where we needed to spend a lot of money.

“I felt as though we were reasonably strong in that area of the pitch and wanted to spend it in other areas.”

Good start

Although Villa have not been great in the Championship so far this season, McGinn has taken to English football like a duck to water.

The 23-year-old Scotland international midfielder has provided two assists in five Championship appearances for the Villans so far this campaign, according to WhoScored.

Blackburn will face Steve Bruce’s Villa at Ewood Park in the Championship on Saturday evening.