Gary Lineker and Micah Richards make hilarious X-rated John McGinn admission

Aston Villa captain John McGinn has been lauded by Match of the Day pundits Gary Lineker and Micah Richards following his superb recent performances. Not only that, but the Scotsman has had one particular attribute singled out by the two former England internationals – and in rather hilarious fashion.

McGinn, who was once a teammate of Richards at Villa when he first arrived from Hibernian in 2018, has largely been in and out of the mainstream Premier League radar during recent seasons. This campaign has been very different, however, with the midfielder one of the star men of a forever-rising Unai Emery side.

Two 1-0 wins over Manchester City and Arsenal within the space of just four days were impressive enough on paper, but the most stunning aspect was the immense work rate of the players involved. McGinn led the way by playing two full bouts of 90 minutes while putting in a man-of-the-match performances in both.

"What did I tell ya! A couple of years ago I told you to watch out for super Johnny McGinn. What a player he is," Richards told The Rest is Football. "I was at Aston Villa and we had Grealish: He was the main man, he was the one to make things tick and the flair player; the star boy. 

“But McGinn… he did all the hard work. He had a great left foot and he’s super strong. People don’t understand how strong he is. When he bursts through and you try and get the ball off him, he gets his big a*** in there and gets a great stance where he says, ‘Get off me’. 

“He’s got great acceleration, he picks the right passes. A lot of people laughed when he came down from Scotland but from the first training session I was like, ‘Wow! He can shoot, he can tackle, he’s good in possession’. It makes it even better that he’s such a great person, too.

“He had a little dip but now he’s got his form back and is oozing with confidence. He’s putting in performance after performance. He was linked with Man Utd and Liverpool a while ago but how great for him now he’s stayed at Aston Villa as a Champions League-challenging club," Richards continued.

Fellow presenter Lineker then stepped in with a hilarious one-liner. “Well, he can’t move club anymore, can he? Because he’s got such a big a***," Lineker joked. "There we go. Has he got the best a*** in football? And I mean how you use it on the football pitch, obviously," Lineker said, prompting a bellowing laugh from Richards.

It's not just Match of the Day pundits noticing McGinn's specialised strengths, either, as his low centre of gravity becomes particularly apparent when Villa are pressed in midfield. The likes of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice simply couldn't get the ball off him, while even John Stones struggled for Man City.

Emery and Villa fans alike will be hoping McGinn can continue his extraordinary work for many more years to come. As will Scotland supporters with the midfielder's home nation competing at UEFA EURO 2024 next summer.