Having sold Jack Grealish in the summer, seeing Dean Smith get the sack with Steven Gerrard coming in to replace him back in November and a number of other players moving in and out of the club during the previous summer and winter transfer windows, it's safe to say that it has been a busy season behind the scenes at Aston Villa.

On the pitch, things haven't been particularly smooth for certain periods of the season, with the Villans racking up eight wins, three draws and 13 defeats at this stage of the campaign.

However, despite their shaky results, one player, in particular, has been a real shining light for the Midlands club in terms of his performances - John McGinn.

Having racked up more minutes in the league this season than any other Villa midfielder, this shows just how important he was to Smith when he was in charge and currently is by Gerrard in the early stages of his tenure at Villa Park.

The Scotland international's performances have proved why he's been getting so much game time this season, with WhoScored listing him as Villa's highest-rated player with an overall rating of 7.13/10.

As well as being a useful figure in front of goal with three goals and two assists under his belt, the 27-year-old has shown just how much of a defensive unit he can be for the team as well, having racked up a total of 64 tackles and 18 interceptions in the 21 league appearances he's made this season.

Labelled as a "sensational" player by former Villa manager Alex McLeish, McGinn can certainly be considered as being one of Gerrard's main heroes this season, arguably more so than any of their January arrivals such as Lucas Digne or Philippe Coutinho based on his consistent performances throughout the entire season.

Moving forward, if the former Hibernian star can keep up his level of performances from now until the end of the season and potentially add some more goals and assists to his record whilst protecting the defenders behind him with his own defensive capabilities, he'll definitely be in the frame to be considered as one of Villa's most important players of the season.

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