A “talented” England international is now interested in completing a move to Aston Villa, should the Villans like the idea of bringing him in.
McGinn happy after "important" Aston Villa win
Unai Emery’s side got back to winning ways on Thursday evening, winning 1-0 at home to Bologna in the Europa League, courtesy of John McGinn’s strike.
Speaking after the game, the Scot was in positive spirits, as Villa look to build on the victory heading into Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham at Villa Park.
“It was important. We got a bit nervy towards the end. They play mental football, man-to-man, and it reminds me of (Marcelo) Bielsa when he was at Leeds. It’s tough and you need to be concentrating because they leave a few players up. You need to be clean going forward with the ball and I don’t think we were.
“I thought we were a little bit rusty going forward, but we created chances and we could have won by more. I thought we played better in the first half than the second, but the important thing was to get the win with a very important clean sheet with a good save from Marco at the end.”
New signings could be needed in January, or at least next summer, in order for Villa to keep improving, and they have now been linked with a move for a 10-cap England international.
England international "open" to Aston Villa move
Speaking to Football Insider, former scout Mick Brown claimed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek is “open” to joining Aston Villa from AC Milan, although no approach has been made for him.
“He’s always showed a lot of promise and at his best he can be excellent, but for me he’s never quite hit the levels people expected of him, even though he’s clearly got a lot of talent. Since his move to AC Milan, he’s done well, and Tuchel obviously sees something in him.
“The qualities he’s got could be an asset to a lot of sides, there’s no doubting that, it’s just about whether he’s going to perform consistently enough. There’s been some talk of a move to Aston Villa, but I’m not sure he’s the player they need right now, he might be better off somewhere else.
“I think it’s something he’s open to, he wants to come back to the Premier League, to compete and potentially put himself in the [England] manager’s thinking. I’m sure if Aston Villa came calling, it’s a move he’d like to make, but I am doubtful about whether they’d push for that one at the moment.”
Loftus-Cheek, thoguht to be valued at £17m, could be a shrewd signing by Villa, having been hailed as a “talented” player by Owen Hargreaves in the past, especially if he has the hunger to win his place back in the England squad before next summer’s World Cup.
At 29, he is still young enough to enjoy three or four good years at Villa Park, and his pace and power in midfield areas could be a weapon for Emery, also adding depth in the middle of the park.