Teams throughout the Championship are constantly searching for any steals that might improve their starting lineup.
This is frequently the ideal strategy to use, as the financial range in the division varies based on resources and club stature. Successful pickups can then be sold for a significant profit, or at the very least, have a significant impact on a side’s upward trajectory. It’s also safe to say that Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa have had quite different perspectives over the last six years, ever since the East Lancashire team lost out on pursuing such a crucial piece of Unai Emery’s engine room.
This is due to the fact that in 2018, Rovers manager Tony Mowbray acknowledged that he had passed up hiring John McGinn, who was playing for SPFL team Hibernian, at the time.
On August 5, 2018, it was announced that Blackburn was going up against Scottish powerhouse Celtic, who had been the only team to submit an offer for the Scot at that point. This was four days before the transfer deadline day, which ended on August 31st instead of the customary date, August 5. But the day before the deadline, the Villans, then under Steve Bruce’s management during his last transfer window at Villa Park, made the vital move to sign McGinn for an estimated £3 million on an initial four-year contract.
On September 15, 2018, the day before Blackburn and Villa drew 1-1, he would bestow praise on the centre midfielder, just weeks after Mowbray had failed to sign him.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph, “John was on the radar; it’s good for him to come to England and test himself.”
“Leaving Edinburgh and travelling to Glasgow and the Old Firm has been a fairly common route, but it was beneficial for John McGinn to come to England and test himself in a league where he will be tested.” It will be exciting to see him.
The combative player from Glasgow, who scored nine goals and provided twelve assists across all competitions, including the game-winning goal in the play-off final against Derby County at Wembley Stadium, would have frustrated everyone associated with Blackburn throughout that season.
In August 2018, McGinn scored the Second City team’s first Premier League goal in three years in a 3-1 away loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the club’s early struggles following promotion, McGinn settled into top flight life with ease and ultimately secured survival on the final day of the season.
Tyrone Mings was replaced by McGinn as captain ahead of the 2022–2023 season, following two seasons of stability and transition that saw the arrival of Steven Gerrard in place of Smith. However, Gerrard would only play for two months of the season before Emery’s revolution in B6 got underway.
There are always going to be close calls in the transfer market for any club, and McGinn’s help in getting the West Midlands team back to the top of English and European football will have the supporters at Ewood Park wondering a lot of what could have been.
McGinn’s game has also reached new heights, as the master tactician has seemingly done with every player in Claret and Blue. Since Emery took over a year and a half ago, McGinn has contributed 14 Premier League goals, including a record-breaking strike against Arsenal in December. He has also registered six goals and six assists in the team’s run to the UEFA Conference League semifinals.
But even more frustration for Blackburn will begin at the beginning of the following season, as the St. Mirren academy alum will guide Villa into their first UEFA Champions League / European Cup campaign for the first time in 41 years, after securing an incredible fourth-place finish and amassing 69 caps for the club.
