da esoccer bet： According to TEAMtalk, Wolves are interested in signing John McGinn from Midlands rivals Aston Villa, while Everton and Leicester City are also interested in the midfielder.
What’s the word, then?
da brwin： Well, it was Steve Bruce who signed the Scotland international for just £2m from Hibernian, branding the capture as the finest of his managerial career.
Since arriving at Villa Park, McGinn has scored 11 goals and registered 12 assists in 65 appearances – he also netted the winning goal in the Championship playoff final against Derby.
He is currently sidelined with an ankle problem, although the 25-year-old more than proved his Premier League credentials before he was struck by injury with goals against Tottenham, Arsenal and Burnley this season – he also recorded an assist against Liverpool.
Would offer Nuno something different
While Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo currently has a number of midfielders at his disposal, McGinn would offer him something different.
The Portuguese coach has Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker, Morgan Gibbs-White and Bruno Jordao to choose from, but interestingly, the Aston Villa No.7 lodged in Wolves’ sights betters the two most high-profile of those players in one key area – dribbling.
McGinn completes an impressive 2.3 dribbles per game in the Premier League, where his drive and energy from midfield are major parts of his game.
Significantly, Neves only registers 0.7 dribbles per game, whereas Moutinho records 0.4 – combined, that is only 1.1 dribbles per game, which is nowhere near McGinn’s average amount.
Both men play a very regimented style of football in which they prefer to dictate from deep rather than carry the ball up the pitch, so despite his many options, Nuno could actually do with having the Villa ace – rated at £18m on Transfermarkt – in his squad to provide a fresh dimension to the midfield.
Call yourself a Wolves expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?
With European football also looking likely for next term – Wolves currently sit sixth – more bodies to add to Nuno’s thin squad certainly wouldn’t go amiss.
In other news, this Mick McCarthy signing proved to be a hugely shrewd investment from Wolves…