Aston Villa dynamo would be dream fit at Liverpool, says pundit
Alan Hutton insists John McGinn would “walk” into the Liverpool team and would not be phased playing alongside a team full of title winners.
The Aston Villa midfielder has been mentioned as a target for Jurgen Klopp this summer. The German coach is looking for a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, who left on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
A number of names have been thrown into the ring with the Sunday Post revealing last month that McGinn was a transfer target for the Reds.
A separate report from The Athletic also claimed the Anfield club have “very real interest” in the Scotland international.
Villa though are determined to keep the 26-year-old. Dean Smith does not have any intention to sell McGinn this summer. He is under contract until 2025 after penning a new extension in December.
And, as per the Express & Star, Villa are ready to stand firm over their £50million despite picking him up for £2miillion from Hibernian in 2018.
That probably prompted the Liverpool Echo to report that “Klopp is a huge admirer of Aston Villa talisman John McGinn but that seems as far as Liverpool’s interest will go this summer”.
Former Villa defender Hutton wants McGinn stay in the midlands, after scoring three goals and picking up six assists in 37 Premier League outings last season.
He does though have no doubt McGinn could cut the mustard with Klopp’s men at Anfield.
“It’s absolutely brilliant,” Hutton told Football Insider, when asked about his progression.
“First and foremost, what a guy. On and off the pitch he has that leader mentality.
“On the pitch he gives 110% every single day. Just look at his run from St Mirren to Hibs then to Villa.
“To make his mark in the way he has is phenomenal. It doesn’t surprise me that teams like Liverpool are watching him.
“Wijnaldum has moved on and he can fill that role, Villa fans are going to hate me but he would fit into that team.
“He has high energy and can score goals. He gets around the pitch and he’s mentally tough.
“Walking into a Liverpool team of that size would not phase him one bit.
“I want him to stay at Villa. But it doesn’t surprise me that people like Klopp are looking at him.”
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Mbappe stance revealed
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s hopes of landing Kylian Mbappe, in what would be undoubtedly the transfer coup of the summer, appear to have increased.
The France striker’s future with Paris Saint-Germain is in doubt and has been for the last year with just 12 months remaining on his contract in the French capital.
Talks over a new deal with the Ligue 1 champions have hit the buffers, despite PSG’s desire to keep the 22-year-old. It means that if the status quo is maintained then Mbappe will leave PSG on a free transfer with talks over a move abroad free to take place from January 2022.
Just where the exciting attacker’s future lies remains unclear. Two club’s who have been linked with the player are Liverpool and Real Madrid.
And those two clubs will be rejoicing with the latest news been relayed by French outlet RMC. They claim that Mbappe does not want to pen a new deal after seeing his relationship with sporting director Leonardo deteriorate,
His stance is that he will fulfil the contract he signed in September 2017. Mbappe agreed a one-year loan to PSG from Monaco with a four-year deal to follow.
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