After Tony Mowbray’s snub, Blackburn Rovers will regret allowing Aston Villa to seal the bargain transfer agreement.

Blackburn missed out on a big transfer back in 2018 which has been a big regret.

Before the 2018–19 season began, Mowbray had just secured Blackburn’s promotion back to the Championship and was trying to assemble a team strong enough to win the division and perhaps beyond.

The reigning Premier League winners were keen to establish themselves in the lower division and aim to progress back to the top level.

McGinn was one of the players he could have signed at the time, with a massive transfer window ahead.

What happened between John McGinn and Blackburn in 2018?

The Scottish midfielder further demonstrated his abilities by playing in a preseason friendly against Blackburn, after making an impression for Hibernian in the Scottish League.

Despite being on the shortlist, Mowbray, the current manager of Sunderland, gave an explanation for why the team decided against moving forward with him, which is how Aston Villa was able to sign him.

Mowbray stated in an interview with the Lancashire Telegraph that “John McGinn is a good football player and had been on our radar for a long, long time.”

“There was a feeling he was leaving Hibernian, and I know the people there very, very well. Celtic had been mentioned frequently.

“John fell into a category where we were going to spend some of the money, how much on this position, and at the early part I didn’t really see central midfield as somewhere we needed to spend a lot of money,” Mowbray said, continuing to shower him with praise.

We seemed to be fairly strong in that area of the pitch, so I thought we should use it elsewhere.

John was being watched; it would be beneficial for him to visit and assess himself in England.

“Leaving Edinburgh and traveling to Glasgow and the Old Firm has been a fairly common route, but it was beneficial for John McGinn to come to England and test himself in a league where he will be tested.” It will be exciting to see him.

How successful has McGinn been for Aston Villa?

The fact that McGinn has performed so well for The Villains since his transfer is among the main reasons why Blackburn supporters will be hurt by this transfer drama.

It could not have gone better for McGinn in his first season in the Championship, even though Dean Smith took over after Steve Bruce was fired due to a subpar start to the season. His participation in 40 league games during the regular season, along with his six goals, nine assists, and one additional goal—the game-winning goal against Derby County in the play-off final—served as further evidence of this.

He smoothly transitioned from the Championship to the Premier League and continued to get better; as a result, he has now made over 100 appearances in the top division overall. He is still a mainstay for club and nation and is a member of Scotland’s most successful recent generation.

Under Unai Emery, the 29-year-old has now perfected one of the most intriguing tactical positions for any team in the Premier League, playing a hybrid role between left wing and midfield and also wearing the captain’s armband. Although it’s hard to predict what Villa will accomplish in the league and in Europe this year, McGinn’s talent is a major factor in the team’s high expectations.

At £3 million, it’s a great deal, and Blackburn should be disappointed that they missed the opportunity to get their own.