Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard does not even want to contemplate selling John McGinn and may decide to build his team around the midfielder, says journalist Pete O'Rourke.
McGinn only signed a new contract, which will take his stay at Villa Park to 2025, last year, but the 27-year-old has been linked with a move away from the club.
Who is interested in McGinn?
According to The Sun, Manchester United are interested in signing the Scotland international as they prepare for the possible departure of Paul Pogba, who will be a free agent next summer.
The same report claims that United's interest stretches back to 2019, where Villa wanted no less than £50m for their midfielder. However, the club's valuation is now thought to be above that figure.
McGinn only cost Villa £2m, as confirmed by former manager Steve Bruce, when he joined the Midlands outfit from Hibernian back in 2018, but it is easy to see why they now value him so highly.
He has quickly become such an important player for them, making well over 100 appearances, and has proven himself in the Premier League.
In McGinn's debut season in the English top flight, only Jack Grealish (7.23) managed to record a higher WhoScored rating than the former Hibs man (7.00).
What has O'Rourke said about McGinn?
O'Rourke has told GIVEMESPORT that McGinn is someone that Gerrard could build around and is adamant that he is player the Liverpool legend will not want to lose.
Speaking to GMS, the transfer insider said: "It's something Steven Gerrard probably doesn't even want to contemplate. He wants to keep McGinn at Villa and maybe build his side around the Scottish international."
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How has McGinn performed under Gerrard?
As quoted by Birmingham Live, Gerrard recently said: "I love John McGinn, I love the person, the character, the player." It is not hard to see why.
McGinn has thrived under the former England captain following his arrival at Villa Park last month, particularly impressing in the 2-1 win against Crystal Palace at the end of November.
He won man of the match on WhoScored with a rating of 8.8 after managing to get his name on the scoresheet.
On the day, McGinn was also neat and tidy in possession, recording a 90% pass success rate - the highest in Villa's team.
Ultimately, you can understand why Gerrard would not want to lose the midfielder and why he would want to build this Villa side around him.