Aston Villa have been told that they have one of the strongest players in the Premier League within their squad, with West Ham United striker Michail Antonio sharing his verdict.
As lovers of football, it’s easy to make an assumption about what it would be like to play against certain players, making an actual insight from a professional extremely interesting.
This week, West Ham United striker Michail Antonio took the time to identify who he believes is one of the strongest players in the Premier League, with an Aston Villa ace being named as one of the best.
In terms of physical strength, the likes of Diego Carlos, Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz come to mind, however, Antonio’s answer was none of those listed.
Michail Antonio says John McGinn is one of the strongest players in the Premier League
Speaking on The Players Channel podcast, Antonio claimed that John McGinn is one of the strongest players in the league, outlining what makes him so difficult to play against.
“John McGinn is one of the strongest players in the Premier League. When he sticks his a—- out there is nothing moving him. Nothing.”
When watching how sturdy McGinn is on the ball, it’s perhaps not too surprising to hear of Antonio’s view of the Scotsman, who is a consistently robust figure for Unai Emery, particularly when in possession.
The 29-year-old is renowned for his trademark move of backing into the opposition to shield the ball, a trick that the West Ham marksman referred to in the podcast.
There are many elements to McGinn’s game that make him a difficult player to come up against, with Villa overjoyed to have the versatile midfielder on their side.
Aston Villa will be relieved to have John McGinn back from suspension
Last week, McGinn returned to action for the Villans in the Premier League after serving a three-match suspension after picking up a straight red card against Tottenham last month.
There was a clear void when the Scotland international was not in Emery’s squad, with his strength, leadership and ability to carry the ball missing when he was out of action.
Without the captain’s help, Villa stumbled in their form, winning one of the three games that McGinn was absent in, losing 4-1 to Manchester City, beating Wolves and drawing 1-1 with West Ham.
In each of those games, there was a noticeable absence in the midfield, making Emery’s skipper’s return to action even more celebratory with a host of key challenges ahead to battle.
