Former Sunderland striker and now pundit Kevin Phillips has backed John McGinn to stay at Aston Villa, whether his side goes down or not.
There have been plenty of reports in the past week or so linking Wolves to the Scotland international, as well as other sides such as Everton and Leicester City, meaning that Aston Vill could well have their work cut out for keeping him at the club, especially if they go down.
Within the previous report, it is claimed that Manchester United have dropped out of the race for the midfielder, with them opting to go for McGinn’s teammate in Jack Grealish instead, which could well make Wolves’ pursuit for the player a lot more simple.
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Nevertheless, they still have to fight off Everton and Leicester, who are both looking like exciting prospects for the coming season with Brendan Rodgers’ side now firmly in the Champions League zone and Everton seemingly a much-improved team since Carlo Ancelotti took over.
Despite the previous, Kevin Phillips believes that with the player being injured for the season, he may feel as if he owes the club one, therefore he cannot see him leaving if he goes down.
Within an interview with Football Insider, Phillips said: “I do not see McGinn leaving if they go down.
“He has been injured for virtually the whole season and he probably feels he owes Aston Villa one. If they do not go down he definitely will not leave.
“When he is on fire he could play in most Premier League sides but I do not see him leaving.
“I had a conversation with him earlier on and he is a nice kid. I got the impression he feels he wants to stay and try and help Villa whichever league they are in.
“If he was to kick off and say he wants to leave he might have let himself down a little bit.”
Before the player picked up his injury on December 21, he had been one of the team’s most important figures. From just 18 Premier League appearances he had scored on three occasions while also managing to assist twice.
Despite Phillips’ words, it is going to be some task for the club to hang onto the player if those three clubs do come knocking at the door, as they all look like sides ready to kick on in the future.
