The remarkable rise of Aston Villa star John McGinn as Scottish ace leads Villans to European glory

Eight years after joining Aston Villa for £2.5 million, 'Super John McGinn' has led his side to European glory.

In the build up to the Europa League final, McGinn described the occasion as the 'pinnacle' of his illustrious career.

Having already captained his side to a second UEFA Champions League qualification in three years, the Scotland international's legacy at Aston Villa was teetering on legendary and, now with silverware to show for it, he has surely crossed that threshold.

A product of the St Mirren youth academy, McGinn made a name for himself as a combative, hard-working midfielder in his 87 appearances, which included being a member of their Scottish League Cup winning side in 2013.

He then moved to Hibernian in 2015 and became a key member of the Hibs side that won a first Scottish Cup for 114 years in the 2015/16 season, making 101 total appearances for the Edinburgh side.

Despite receiving three offers from his boyhood club Celtic - whom his grandad was chairman of - in 2018, McGinn opted to take the plunge and join then-Championship outfit Aston Villa.

A £2.5m Championship bargain

Joining the Villans in August 2018 under Steve Bruce, McGinn entered a side who had just suffered the heartbreak of a play-off defeat the season prior.

That play-off defeat had looked set to leave Villa in financial disarray, coming just hours from administration before Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens purchased the club for a reported £30 million.

Once saved from financial oblivion, McGinn was one of the first signings of the new era at Villa park, arriving for just £2.5 million as a relative unknown from the Scottish Premiership.

Making his debut against Wigan Athletic in a 3-2 Villa win, McGinn quickly established himself as a fan-favourite, earning an assist and forcing an own goal with his wand of a left boot in his first appearance.

His tenacity, physicality and hard-working attitude on the pitch - coupled with his vibrant and comedic personality off it - instantly endeared him to the Villa Park faithful.

In typical McGinn fashion, his first goal in English football was arguably his best, securing the EFL Championship goal of the season with a wicked, swerving 25-yard left footed volley in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite McGinn's fast start, Villa had begun the season extremely poorly, leading to the dismissal of Steve Bruce and the appointment of Dean Smith.

Promotion to the Premier League

Though Dean Smith took time to get the right formula and turn Villa's fortunes around, a fantastic second half of the season - led by the return of the talismanic Jack Grealish from injury - saw them start to make some progress.

The Villans were 13th in the table heading into March, with a miraculous 10-match winning run completely changing the trajectory of the season and of the club.

This winning run - which still stands to this day as the club's longest ever streak of victories - saw Aston Villa reach the play-offs once again against all of the odds of the summer prior.

From 40 regular season games, John McGinn notched an impressive six goals and 10 assists from midfield, helping his side to secure a top six finish and set up a semi final tie with local rivals West Bromwich Albion.

The Scotsman performed strongly in both legs, which saw Aston Villa progress to the play-off final via a penalty shootout, but it was his performance in the final which really caught the eye.

His goal at Wembley, which was ultimately the winner - giving the Villans a 2-0 lead over Derby County - began a pattern that has followed throughout his Aston Villa career. At all of Villa's milestones, John McGinn scores.

The fallen giants are back on their feet

After spearheading the promotion charge, which restored Aston Villa to the division from which they belong, McGinn was rewarded with club's Players' Player of the Season and Supporters' Player of the Season awards.

Premier League survival

As one of the Championship's best players that season, it's no surprise that Aston Villa chose to lock the Scotland man down to a new five year contract at the start of the 2019/20 season, ensuring that they kept a key player for the coming relegation battle.

Despite the Villans shelling out over £120m on 12 players, McGinn retained his place in the side and only continued to grow to the occasion when required.

Poetically - after scoring the goal that sent Villa to the Premier League - McGinn scored their opening goal back in the top flight, opening the score away at Tottenham Hotspur in an eventual 3-1 defeat.

The 2019/20 season was a difficult one for Aston Villa, losing the League Cup final to Manchester City before looking set for relegation back to the Championship without a wimper.

However, in no small part down to the Covid-19 pandemic - Aston Villa and Dean Smith were able to spend more time in finding solutions to their glaring issues and began to improve their form.

Eight points in four matches against Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Everton and West Ham on the final day meant that the Villans pulled off their own mini 'great escape' to continue as a top flight club once more.

As expected, McGinn played a key role in their final point of the campaign, assisting Jack Grealish at the London Stadium as Aston Villa secured the point they needed for survival.

The Villa captaincy and struggles under Gerrard

After a strong 2020/21 season, which saw the Villans sign key stars Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and Emiliano Martinez to finish a respectable 11th in the table, expectation began to rise again at Villa Park.

With ambitious owners splashing the cash and fans returning to stadiums, there was much hope around the club for continued progression into the 2021/22 season.

However, a run of five matches without a win saw Dean Smith sacked and replaced by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

Having just won an invincible Scottish Premiership title, much was expected of the Steven Gerrard era at Aston Villa, which never really got going.

After a 14th place finish in 2021/22, Gerrard made significant changes at the club, most significantly publicly stripping Tyrone Mings of the Villa captaincy and handing it to John McGinn.

Much is said about just how poor Gerrard was as Villa boss, but his decision to appoint the Scot as Villa captain was inspired.

Learning from one of the greatest midfield captains to play the game, McGinn was able to develop his leadership and maturity in the short time before Gerrard's dismissal in 2022/23.

It wasn't all positive though, with poor performances leading to McGinn being dropped from the side and almost pushing him to join West Ham in the January.

Had Villa not made the greatest appointment in the club's history to replace the former Rangers manager, there's every chance he would be playing in a different Claret and Blue this season.

Unai Emery and European football

In November 2023, with Aston Villa languishing 17th in the table and the club in complete disarray, Unai Emery was appointed as the new Manager.

The Spaniard came with a rich reputation of European success and overachievement with so-called midtable sides, in what has proven to be one of the best managerial signings in Premier League history.

Emery steered the ship back on course in his first season with the club, utilising players like McGinn to lead his side into the top half of the Premier League.

The Villans didn't stop there, reaching seventh place in the Premier League and earning themselves a spot in the Conference League against all odds, their first European qualification for over a decade.

Aston Villa's remarkable form at the back end of that season was epitomised by a 3-0 home win over third place Newcastle, which saw McGinn earn plaudits for his exceptional performance.

UEFA Champions League and Conference League heartbreak

The 2023/24 season, Unai Emery's first full season in charge at Aston Villa, was among the most successful in their recent history.

This season was also somewhat of a breakthrough for John McGinn, establishing himself amongst some of the best players in the league.

Six goals and five assists in the Premier League, coupled with three goals and three assists in the Conference League, helped fire Villa to heights not seen in over 40 years.

A fourth place finish in the Premier League - and UEFA Champions League qualification - was secured with a game to spare, all while juggling their first European campaign in over a decade.

Despite all of the good feeling around the club, a disappointing 6-2 aggregate defeat to Olympiacos in the Conference League semi finals ultimately prevented the Villans from breaking their trophy duck.

Alongside strong output, McGinn also showed vital utility for his team, playing in defensive midfield, right midfield, left midfield, centre midfield, attacking midfield and left back across a campaign which saw Villa hit with significant injury issues.

A season of falling short

The 2024/25 season saw Aston Villa embark on their first campaign amongst Europe's elite since 1983, which saw them knocked out to Juventus in the quarter finals.

Though a season of promise and some exceptional moments - notably a 1-0 League phase win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, ultimately the season felt like one of missed opportunities.

Starting in Europe's elite, Aston Villa almost masterminded a famous comeback over eventual winners PSG, coming from 5-1 down on aggregate to end up just short at 5-4 at the end of the match.

Despite the game ending closely, it was a moment from John McGinn that sparked the Villans' comeback, carrying the ball from well inside his own half before finishing extremely well from outside the box to bring Villa within two goals of their opposition.

Ultimately, Aston Villa fell just short of what would have been a famous European night at Villa Park, exiting Europe's top table at the quarter final stage.

The next disappointment came in the FA Cup, with Villa in the semi final stage for the first time since 2015, as eventual winners Crystal Palace stood in their way.

No player performed well that day in an Aston Villa shirt, passing up the opportunity for another trophy less than two weeks after their UCL quarter final heartbreak.

Even after that season of ups and downs, McGinn and his teammates had given themselves an opportunity to qualify for the UEFA Champions League back-to-back through the Premier League, needing a point on the final day to secure this.

Once again, Villa didn't turn up in the 90 minutes and - despite a controversial refereeing decision playing a huge part - McGinn's side didn't deserve anything from the game and ultimately fell short for a third time within a couple of months.

Overall, the 2024/25 season was an extremely promising and exciting campaign for McGinn's Villa, but missing out on UCL football would have significant consequences on Aston Villa's transfer activity for the season after.

UEFA Champions League return and European Glory

Fast forward to the present day and - after spending just £30 million on signings in the summer - Aston Villa have achieved a generational season of success.

Led by the returning John McGinn, Aston Villa have once more achieved qualification for the UEFA Champions League through the Premier League, with McGinn's goal against Liverpool in their penultimate game of the season securing a top five finish.

This season has also been the best scoring season of McGinn's career, notching 10 goals and seven assists in all competitions to this point.

McGinn has continued to score massive goals for Aston Villa over the course of this campaign, netting winners in games against Nottingham Forest, Bologna, Lille, Fulham and Nottingham Forest again.

Not only has this earned a top five finish for his side, but he was in no small part responsible for Aston Villa's run to the final of the Europa League.

It is fair to say that without McGinn, Villa may not have reached the stage to win their first trophy since the late 90s, earning a generation of Aston Villa fans the chance to see their team lift a major trophy for the first time.

Aston Villa have achieved unprecedented success in the eight years since McGinn signed for the club, with their inspirational Scottish captain leading them on to new heights year-on-year.