John McGinn

John McGinn (born 18 October 1994) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa, whom he captains, and the Scotland national team. McGinn previously played for St Mirren and Hibernian, and also represented Scotland at the under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his full international debut in March 2016. Club career St Mirren McGinn started his career as a youth player at St Mirren playing for the club's Ralston Academy. He broke into the first team in pre-season of the 2012–13 season, representing the club against English opposition Carlisle United and Accrington Stanley. In the same summer he also helped the under-20 side to victory in Kilbirnie Ladeside pre-season tournament, picking up joint player of the tournament with Jack Smith. McGinn made his competitive début against SPL champions Celtic in a 5–0 defeat, coming off the bench as a 78th-minute substitute. On 29 November 2012, McGinn signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at St Mirren Park until summer 2015. McGinn played the first 81 minutes of the 2013 Scottish League Cup Final, as St Mirren won the League Cup by winning 3–2 against Hearts. In April 2015, McGinn was "speared" by St Mirren club captain Steven Thompson during a training session prank gone wrong. The resulting injury meant that McGinn missed the remainder of the season, and in turn took legal action against the club. Hibernian On 31 July 2015, McGinn joined Hibernian on a four-year contract. Hibs paid St Mirren a development fee and promised them 30% of any future transfer fee. McGinn was part of the Hibernian team that won the 2015–16 Scottish Cup, the club's first victory in the competition for 114 years. In the following season, McGinn helped Hibs win promotion to the Scottish Premiership. Hibs rejected three offers from EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest for McGinn during August 2017. McGinn scored both of the Hibs goals in a 2–2 draw at Celtic on 30 September, and the first goal in a 2–1 win at Rangers on 3 February 2018. McGinn was one of four players nominated for the 2017–18 PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year award. Celtic made three offers for McGinn during July 2018, but these were all rejected by Hibernian. During this period of transfer speculation, McGinn continued to play regularly for Hibs and scored the winning goal in a Europa League qualifier against Asteras Tripolis. McGinn visited Aston Villa's training ground on 7 August to discuss a potential transfer, which was completed the following day. Aston Villa McGinn signed a four-year contract with Aston Villa on 8 August 2018. He made his debut for Villa in a 3–2 win against Wigan on 11 August, during which he provided an assist for the opening goal and his inswinging corner forced an own goal in the second half. International career McGinn received an international call-up when he was selected as part of a Scotland under-19 squad for a training camp in Turkey in January 2013. He later went on to make his international debut for the under-19 side against Netherlands in a 2–1 defeat. McGinn then captained the under-19s against Serbia in Stara Pazova. On 5 March 2014, he made his debut for the Scotland under-21 side in a 2–2 draw against Hungary at Tannadice. McGinn later captained the under-21 team. McGinn received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in March 2016, for a friendly against Denmark. McGinn played for the whole of the 1–0 win and was awarded man of the match. Personal life John is the third of four children to parents Stephen and Mary. He has a twin sister, Katie, and his older brothers Stephen and Paul are also professional footballers. All three brothers have been with St Mirren at some stage in their careers. Their grandfather Jack McGinn is a former Celtic chairman and Scottish Football Association president.