Tony Cascarino believes Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn would be a “great replacement” for Liverpool star Jordan Henderson.
After impressing for Hibernian in Scotland, McGinn made the switch to Aston Villa in 2018. He helped them earn promotion to the Premier League in 2018/19.
The midfielder has featured 124 times for Villa and he has shone in the top flight over the past couple of years.
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A couple of months ago, it was reported that Jurgen Klopp has “very real” interest in the 27-year-old.
It was suggested during the summer that he was rated at around £50m.
For The Times, Cascarino wrote that he expects Steven Gerrard to “do all he can” to keep McGinn:
“John McGinn is good enough to be playing for a Champions League club, and at 27 he’s still got the best years of his career ahead of him.
“He’s a goal threat and he is tough to shake off the ball. He’s got that same body shape Wayne Rooney had, but don’t mistake that for him being out of condition.
“I think he would suit the way Liverpool play and make a great replacement for Jordan Henderson. But Steven Gerrard will know all of this and the Villa manager will do all he can to keep him.”
Speaking back in June, Andros Townsend suggested that McGinn would “slot straight in” at Liverpool:
“The type of player McGinn is, I think that would be perfect for the way Jurgen Klopp likes to play,” Townsend said.
“He’s fast, strong, he gets about the pitch, he’s defensive-minded when needed.
“People will raise their eyebrows because it’s John McGinn from Scotland. But if you look at the way he plays and his credentials, 100 per cent he can slot straight into that Liverpool team.
“He’d fit straight into the way they want to play.
“Liverpool play with two holding midfielders. Jordan Henderson being one of the them and, if he goes, John McGinn can be the other.
“He’s got the discipline to just sit and allow the attacking players to do their thing and allow the full-backs to get high, so I think it would be a good fit to get someone in of that stature to marshal just in front of the back-four.
“But, what I will add to that is Aston Villa are going for it as well.
“You see the signing of Buendia, so they’re probably saying, ‘listen guys, stick with us and we’re going to spend some money and give it a real go to try and break into the top six and European football this season’.”
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