Explained: Wolves signing 24 y/o would be the first of its kind in 16 years
Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in John McGinn and may have to pay £50m to procure his signature this summer, but his potential arrival on a permanent deal would be significant for more than the transfer fee – it would be the first time in 16 years that Wolves have signed a first-team player from Aston Villa on a permanent deal.
Jordan Graham made the switch from Villa Park to Molineux in 2015, but he wasn’t a first-team player at the time and hadn’t made a single appearance for the Villans prior to his departure. The two clubs have done business together even more recently with Kortney Hause joining Villa last summer, but it’s been a while since the reverse has happened.
Aston Villa players to join Wolves in the Premier League era, as per Transfermarkt
- March 1, 2009 – Marlon Harewood (loan)
- January 1, 2006 – Stefan Postma (loan)
- July 1, 2004 – Rob Edwards (£203k)
- July 1, 2003 – Hassan Kachloul (loan)
- October 1, 1999 – Michael Oakes (£675k)
- July 3, 1995 – Dennis Pearce (free)
- July 1, 1994 – Tony Daley (£1.35m)
- July 1, 1994 – Steve Froggatt (£1.08m)
- February 1, 1994 – Guy Whittingham (loan)
- July 1, 1993 – Cyrille Regis (free)
Wolves players to join Aston Villa in the Premier League era, as per Transfermarkt
- July 1, 2019 – Kortney Hause (£3.06m)
- January 7, 2019 – Kortney Hause (loan)
Whether McGinn would agree to join Wolves from Villa remains to be seen, but he must be tempted given the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs.
Villa are currently 19th in the Premier League table with 25 points from 28 games and have the worst defensive record in the division while Wolves are sixth with 43 points and have lost the second-fewest amount of games this season.