BBC Sport pundit says Aston Villa have a ‘frightening’ player in their ranks

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Aston Villa captain John McGinn continues to impress for club and country.

The Villans star delivered a talismanic performance on Friday night to help Scotland edge closer to Euro 2024 qualification.

McGinn helped his nation run out 3-0 winners over Cyprus and go on the brink of making next summer’s finals.

The visitors surged into a three-goal lead by the half-hour mark before managing the game expertly in the Larnaca heat.

Scott McTominay opened the scoring after just six minutes and Ryan Porteous added a second 10 minutes later.

McGinn then added a third on 30 minutes to give Scotland an advantage against the hosts from which they couldn’t recover.

‘What a return’

BBC Sport pundit Steven Thompson, speaking on Sportsound, loved what he saw from the Aston Villa star.

“That is a brilliant goal, a really good team goal,” he said, as per the BBC Sport website.

“When it’s squared to John McGinn, there is only one thing on his mind.

“It’s not right in the corner, but the keeper wasn’t set because he hits it so quickly.

“What a return it is for Scotland, in terms of goals from midfield for McGinn. It’s frightening.”

McGinn also assisted McTominay’s goal, and boasted an amazing 97.1 percent pass success rate in the match.

Our view

It’s great for Villa and Scotland that they’ve got McGinn in their ranks. He’s a player of the highest quality and surely he’ll be playing at the Euros next year.

Obviously the Scots need to get over the line first, and hopefully that’ll be the case next week. If not, surely by the end of the calendar year.

As for Villa, they’ve had a decent start to their campaign, although Newcastle and Liverpool have recorded heavy wins over them.

The Villans will surely find their feet and build on their six points so far this season, and that’s before mentioning the Europa Conference league adventure awaiting them.

One English side playing in claret and blue have won it. Can Villa repeat that feat next year?