The Midfield Debate

The Summer transfer window came to a close last week and we now know who will be part of our squad for the coming season, unless of call LA Galaxy fancy taking Ross McCormack of our hands or we manage to bring a couple in through the loan market. One of our signings this summer was the signature of highly rated John McGinn from Hibernian who plays in midfield, a position we have plenty of cover for.

Hibs supporters have made it clear just how highly they rate this young man and how they wish him all the very best at Villa Park.

McGinn impressed the Villa faithful on his Villa debut in a 3-2 home win over newly promoted Wigan and also featured in the EFL team of the week. The midfield man also contributed to an assist when he set James Chester up for the opener with a beautiful cross. It was clear to see that he has a good delivery which could make us even more dangerous from set-pieces.

This is where a headache comes for Steve Bruce. I have already mentioned that midfield isn’t a position we are short of numbers and for McGinn to start on a regular basis, someone needs to be dropped.

At the weekend, Bruce opted to drop Irishman Conor Hourihane, a move I feel was very harsh as I rate the former Barnsley man. I love his consistency, work rate and his ability to chip in with the odd goal.

Birkir Bjarnason also replaced Glenn Whelan and although he scored the winning goal, his performance wasn’t as good as I have come to expect from the Iceland midfield man.

So how does Bruce fit in all his midfield options? Including those already mentioned we have 9 players capable of playing in the centre midfield position and this doesn’t include either Callum O’Hare or Gary Gardner who crossed over to the dark side before the transfer deadline last week.

I believe we need to forget about having a designated defensive midfielder and play with three across the middle. Once again, decisions need to be made who starts. I would opt for Jack Grealish, McGinn and Hourihane. These three are clever enough to know when they are able to push forward or when to hold and going forward it would undoubtedly be a frightening trio.

Well, all know that Grealish has that bit of magic up his sleeves which enables him to lock the very best defences out there. Hourihane scored double figures last season – the first from midfield since David Platt. Then we add our new signing who doesn’t look afraid to hit one from long ranges and also has the work rate (based on his performance against Wigan) to help out defensively.

Another debate I have seen on social media is who should start on the wing? Another midfield problem for Bruce. You have the exciting youthful Andre Green, the consistent Ahmed Elmohamady and last seasons top goal scorer, Albert Adomah.

Who would you start in the Midfield for the game against Ipswich? Let me know in the comments section down below.