Football
Exclusive: Sunderland Make Shock Move for Aston Villa's John McGinn
Sunderland is eager to lure experienced Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn to Stadium of Light, but sources indicate he has no intention of leaving. Villa skipper McGinn's impressive performances are sought after, but his loyalty to the club makes him a difficult target. Sunderland is determined to strengthen their squad as they return to the Premier League, focusing on acquiring experienced players like McGinn.
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Experienced Scotland international John McGinn is wanted by Sunderland, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
But our sources have learnt that the 30-year-old midfielder, capped 77 times by his country, has no intention of leaving Aston Villa this summer.
Villa skipper McGinn has two years left on his current contract and enjoyed arguably one of his best seasons for the club last term as Villa reached the Champions League quarter-finals.
Only a dramatic 5-4 loss to eventual champions Paris St-Germain denied the Midlands club from progressing further.
And it was McGinn’s strong performances in the middle of the park which the Black Cats are looking for as they look to shine in their first season back in the Premier League following last season’s memorable promotion.
Everton boss David Moyes is understood to be a big fan of McGinn, who has spent the last seven seasons with Villa and who signed a new four-year deal two years ago.
But prizing McGinn away from Villa Park will be very difficult given the player his happy at the club he won promotion to the top-flight in 2019.
In all, McGinn has played 285 games for the club and scored 30 goals, with 243 of those matches in the Premier League.
STRENGTH IN DEPTH
Sunderland are desperate to strengthen further ahead of what promises to be a tough return to England’s top tier.
The Wearsiders have already made a trio of high-profile midfield signings with Strasbourg’s Habib Diarra (£30m), AS Roma’s Enzo Le Fee (£19.9m) and Union SG’s Noah Sadiki (£15m) having joined ahead of the club’s first Premier League since for eight years.
But the Black Cats want to add some much-needed experience in central midfielder, with all three new signings holding an average of 23.
McGinn has been there and done it having played six seasons in the Premier League and seven in the Scottish Premiership before his move to England nearly a decade ago.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.