John McGinn: Aston Villa's magnificent midfielder guides his side to European glory

Aston Villa are this season's Europa League winners, following their 3-0 win against Freiburg in the final. The Villains will play PSG in the UEFA Super Cup, after the Parisian side won on penalties against Arsenal in this season's Champions League final.

Villa captain John McGinn lifted the Europa League trophy against Freiburg, which was another landmark moment in his Aston Villa career. The Scottish midfielder joined the club in 2018 from Hibernian for a transfer fee of £2.75 million.

Since making the switch to England, John McGinn has played 329 games, scoring 40 and assisting 48. Five of his goals this season were in the Europa League, which helped Villa lift the trophy. The 31-year-old played 44 games across all competitions for the villains this season, scoring 10 and assisting eight. With seven goal involvements in 12 Europa League games, McGinn was at the heart of his side's success in the competition.

From playing in the Championship to the Champions League with Aston Villa, the midfielder has seen plenty with the football club. Ahead of the World Cup, he will be hoping to take his strong end to the season into the tournament.

The Villa captain missed seven league games due to a knee injury, with the side winning just two of those matches. The midfielder's absence was clearly felt by the team, who finished fourth in the Premier League.

When fit, McGinn played in every game bar one match, which shows how much Unai Emery values the 31-year-old in his side. No doubt Scotland manager Steve Clark will be thinking the same, ahead of a huge tournament for the nation this summer. Scotland will face Curacao, Morocco and Brazil in the group stages, as they look to reach the latter stages of the competition, which kicks off in less than 10 days.

Although John McGinn would have had chances to leave the football club, he has stayed put and has reaped his rewards for doing so. He is considered a Villa icon, and he will be hoping to secure legendary status with the Midlands club by the time he departs.

In his first game of the 26/27 season with Aston Villa, he could lift even more silverware, this time in the UEFA Super Cup. The challenge will not be easy for Aston Villa, who face the reigning UEFA Champions League winners.