Man United opinion: Red Devils should drop their interest in John McGinn

According to The Sun, Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn, with the report claiming that former manager Sir Alex Ferguson has recommended the Scottish international to the Red Devils. 

The Sun understands that Sir Alex still has a say over transfers at Old Trafford and the legendary figure has given his seal of approval to the move. 

Man United’s interest in John McGinn seemingly stems from the speculations surrounding Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford, with the report claiming that the French World Cup winner wants to depart the club this summer. (h/t Sun)

McGinn is not Man United’s solitary midfield target though, with the Sun suggesting that the Red Devils have Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes, Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen, Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff, as well as Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic on their radar to replace Pogba.

However, as the story goes, Aston Villa are apparently very determined to hold on to McGinn, who played a key role in their promotion-winning campaign in the Championship last term. The Lions have slapped an outrageous £50million price tag on the 24-year-old central midfielder. 

Aston Villa’s asking price for the Scottish international is too high given that the 24-year-old made the move to Villa Park only last summer and he is yet to play in the Premier League. 

In all honesty, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Villa’s £50million valuation of John McGinn is because they are unwilling to do any sort of business with Man United. 

That kind of an eye-watering price tag is likely to blow any potential suitor out of the water and while Man United certainly have a lot of money to spend, it is hard to imagine the Red Devils going ahead with their interest in the midfielder.

It is unlikely that Villa would sell one of their prized assets immediately after securing a much-awaited promotion to the Premier League.   

To put things into perspective, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has sent out a strong message to the other clubs that he is aiming for a youthful squad overhaul at Old Trafford this summer, as evident from the acquisition of burgeoning talents like Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James. 

Solskjaer is apparently trying to lay down a solid platform for the foreseeable future by building a strong core of young homegrown talents in the ranks at Old Trafford and United’s interest in McGinn is indicative of what the Norwegian is trying to achieve. 

However, the manager needs to understand that lowering the average age of the squad in a single transfer window is not necessarily the most sensible way of going about things, meaning that replacing too many experienced heads with young players in a short span of time might lead to disastrous consequences. 

Realistically, Man United need a gradual transition in their transfer policy and not an abrupt change, and that is exactly why the Red Devils should look at other options and not John McGinn. 

The Scotsman proved himself to be a hugely influential midfielder in the Championship last season with his energy, stamina, technical abilities and goal-scoring prowess.

However, it is worth reminding the Old Trafford faithful that McGinn’s only previous footballing experience was at St. Mirren and Hibernian in the first and second divisions of Scottish football. So it is quite clear that he is still very inexperienced at the highest level. 

Cutting the mustard in the Premier League is entirely different from excelling in the EFL Championship or the Scottish top-tier, and Solskajer needs to be aware of that.

Aston Villa’s mammoth asking price for McGinn is only going to increase the risk factor should Man United opt to firm up their interest in the midfielder over the next couple of weeks. 

Conclusion

Having already spent heavily on two young talents this summer, Man United should now shift their focus to players like Bruno Fernandes when it comes to finding an ideal replacement for Pogba. 

Fernandes and McGinn are of the same age, 24, and it is a no-brainer that the Portuguese offers a wider range of qualities when compared to the Scotsman, and has a lot more top-level experience as well.

If Man United are going to drop their interest in Fernandes and go all out for McGinn, they are just going to make themselves look foolish. 

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Keeping all these factors in mind, United would be better off dropping their interest in McGinn, as he is still a relatively unproven talent at the highest level. Splashing out such a huge sum of money on a rookie wouldn’t be a gamble worth taking.