McGinn, the ever-present figure in the Aston Villa midfield and the one who marshalls Unai Emery’s boys, has been ruled out from GW21. The Scotland international suffered a hamstring injury and left the pitch after just 19 minutes against Leicester City last week.
Though Villa managed to win the game by a 2-1 margin, McGinn’s absence can go up to five weeks, leaving a hole in their midfield. On the other hand, this severe blow to Aston Villa will also shake up some FPL teams.
Despite being a niche choice among FPL managers, McGinn(£5.2m) was a great enabler due to his budget price tag. He allowed close to one million managers to spend with luxury in other attacking and defensive slots.
In spite of being mostly the fifth midfielder for most of the FPL teams that owned him, McGinn provided a decent value for money. He registered consecutive assists against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City in gameweek16 and 17, respectively.
Let’s navigate the best FPL replacement for Villa Park’s fan favourite. Here we go!
Jacob Murphy (£5.1m)
Don’t look anywhere further. Jacob Murphy is your man to replace McGinn. The Newcastle United winger has run riot through opposition defences in the last six gameweeks. With the Magpies winning five consecutive games in the PL, Murphy has emerged as the latest Newcastle asset coming under the FPL scanner. He made managers raise their eyebrows with a staggering haul of 47pts in this timeline.
Murphy took over Miguel Almiron, who went further down in the pecking order and claimed the right-wing position for the men in black and white stripes. He is not only nailed on to start but also possesses the habit of setting up others along with scoring himself.
One must note that right after GW20, when Eddie Howe’s in-form Newcastle knocked out the Gunners from the English League Cup, Murphy was on the scoresheet. With upcoming duties against Wolves and Southampton in the next three, he is the one to watch out for.
Therefore, signing Murphy in place of McGinn seems a no-nonsense deal. Meanwhile, going for this Englishman will also check another box — you will get hold of a differential pick from the Newcastle attack, as Isak and Gordon are the usual suspects now.
