Former Nottingham Forest target John McGinn scored a brace for Aston Villa last night to deal a significant blow to the Reds’ play-off hopes. 

The Reds had taken the lead after just three minutes through Jack Colback. But two goals from McGinn within the space of eight minutes shortly afterwards turned the game on its head.

The 24-year-old Scottish midfielder looked a class above throughout the match. Having had such a comfortable afternoon against Hull City previously, the likes of Colback, Ryan Yates and Pelé really struggled against the Villans.

McGinn’s performance was a key reason behind this. Conor Hourihane and Jack Grealish also put in good performances alongside him in midfield.

There’s no doubt that McGinn certainly offered the Reds a reminder of what they had missed out on.

He’s a player that Mark Warburton was seriously interested in signing whilst he was at the club according to the Nottingham Post. McGinn was top of his January wish list before he was dismissed on New Year’s Eve in 2017.

(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

According to a report in the Telegraph at the time, the club’s hierarchy were concerned that Warburton and Frank McParland were focusing on recruiting young players for such a tough division.

Talent

McGinn was finally able to make the transition to English football in the summer. He joined the Villans from Hibernian for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.

Even though he’s only scored four goals this season, there’s no doubt that he’s got a bright future ahead of him. He seems to have got better as the season has developed.

(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)

‘Warburton was right’

Seat Pitch rounded up exactly what Reds supporters had to say about the midfielder’s performance against the Reds.

(Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

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