Aston Villa’s John McGinn up for PFA Championship player of the month

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: John McGinn of Aston Villa celebrates his goal with Tammy Abraham of Aston Villa during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Middlesbrough at Villa Park on March 16, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: John McGinn of Aston Villa celebrates his goal with Tammy Abraham of Aston Villa during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Middlesbrough at Villa Park on March 16, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

John McGinn continues to pile-up statistics in the claret and blue shirt. The Aston Villa midfielder is up for the PFA Championship player of the month award for March.

John McGinn’s recent tear against the EFL Championship continues to pay dividends for the Villa. For his efforts in March, McGinn is selected as one of the six finalists for the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month awards, joining: Rotherham’s Semi Ajayi, Leeds’ pairing Luke Ayling and Pablo Hernandez, Norwich City’s Emi Buendia, and Sheffield United’s Jack O’Connell.

You can vote for McGinn here.

The nomination, of course, is well warranted.

McGinn’s recent form coincides with the return of Jack Grealish from injury. No longer tasked with carrying the midfield both in attack and defense, McGinn found his niche again in cutting out opponent ball carriers and making late, surging runs into the box. In his last four league matches, the Scotland international has a whopping four goals and two assists, helping Villa to the maximum 12 points.

Not bad for a guy tasked as the fourth, fifth, sixth most forward player in Dean Smith’s lineup. On the season, McGinn’s current tally sits at six goals and nine assists in 3,000 league minutes.

Where Villa go forward this season will likely depend on McGinn as much as any other player first-team player. It’s no coincidence Villa struggled mightily when the player hit a mid-season slump that culminated in a two-match yellow card accumulation ban back in February. Since then, however, the Villa has been unstoppable with two WhoScored ratings 9.0 or higher.

Aston Villa prepare to travel to Rotherham United on Wednesday evening.