Aston Villa latest news: £27m Villa Park star 'will really flourish under Steven Gerrard' | OneFootball

Journalist Luke Hatfield has tipped John McGinn to flourish by playing under "one of the all-time best" Premier League midfielders in Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.

The 41-year-old became the new Villa manager when he replaced Dean Smith earlier this month and has enjoyed a dream start in the Villa Park dugout, taking six points from his first two games.

And Hatfield has predicted McGinn, who scored in the second of those victories at Crystal Palace on Saturday, to be a huge success under the ex-Liverpool captain.

How has McGinn performed this season?

In terms of just goals, the Scottish international is already on course to beat his best top-flight return having equalled his previous best with that stunner at Selhurst Park, his third in 12 league games.

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With also one assist to his name, it doesn't come as a great surprise to see that McGinn has been Villa's best player this season, according to Who Scored (7.14), comfortably ahead of Douglas Luiz in second (6.91).

But that rating has flown up since the arrival of Gerrard, with McGinn turning in two brilliant performances during his reign.

Against Palace, McGinn claimed an impressive rating of 8.83 after recording the best passing percentage (90), most shots (3) and fifth most touches (49) which saw him named man of the match.

That came after McGinn recorded another notable display against Brighton in Gerrard's first game in charge seven days earlier (7.48).

With Gerrard a top midfielder during his prime, Hatfield reckons the 27-year-old can thrive under his guidance.

What did Hatfield say?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "McGinn is one of the leading men in this Villa team and I think he will really flourish under Gerrard. It will be a great opportunity for Gerrard to put his imprint on a player who's really on the way up and a key player as well.

"And, for McGinn, he's learning from one of the all-time best Premier League midfielders."

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What can McGinn learn from Gerrard?

The one thing that Gerrard will surely be hoping for is to improve McGinn's goal record.

For a player with such shooting ability, nine Premier League goals in two-and-a-half seasons is not nearly enough.

McGinn, valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, has proven himself on the international stage with 11 goals in 42 caps, but he's so far been unable to replicate that form for Villa.

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But McGinn showed what he's capable of against Palace, picking up a Gerrard-like position on the edge of the box before finishing with such quality, and the Villa boss will be hoping that his influence will quickly start to show in the midfielder's game.

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