Micah Richards says he really thought one Aston Villa player would be worth £50m now

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Micah Richards has admitted that he expected Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn to become a £50 million player.

Richards has been speaking on The Rest Is Football Podcast and discussed McGinn’s career at Aston Villa so far.

The Scotsman completed a switch to Villa Park back in 2018 as he swapped Hibernian for the Midlands.

It’s fair to say the signing has turned out to be an inspired piece of business, with McGinn playing a key role in getting Villa back to the Premier League.

The 28-year-old has also established himself as a consistent performer in England’s top flight and has impressed under Unai Emery.

And Micah Richards has admitted he was expecting McGinn to go on to become a £50 million player.

Richards on McGinn

Speaking on The Rest Is Football Richards says McGinn is now back to his best under Emery’s guidance.

“So John McGinn, we have a WhatsApp group so I’m in there and he’s daft as a brush,” the former Villa man said.

“He has got the banter, he came down from Scotland and he was quite nervous within the dressing room because it was all about Jack Grealish at the time.

“Him and Jack had a really good bond, who is in the group chat as well, and when I saw him play I said ‘he’s going to be worth £40 or £50 million’.

“I saw it straight away and Liverpool were supposed to be in for him, Manchester United, then he had a bit of a dip and lost confidence and now he’s back to his best.

“He’s really good on the ball but he’s really strong and he can run all day. Literally when we did all the running tests he was at the front and I was at the back, and it was so easy for him.

“As long as he keeps focused… well he doesn’t need to leave now as Villa are so good.”

McGinn has attracted interest from a host of top clubs since Villa’s return to the Premier League.

But he did struggle for a brief period of time before Emery took over from Steven Gerrard last season.

Nevertheless, he’s proving to be a key player once again at Villa and has been exceptional so far this season.