This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets... 

The year of 2019 has been quite something for Aston Villa.

Dean Smith was appointed. A run of ten straight victories ensued. Promotion was gained. Premier League football is back at Villa Park.

Just before the international break, the west Midlands club managed to pick up their second win of the season, which saw them rise out of the relegation zone into 15th.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Villa were rampant against Norwich City by sticking five past them with only one in reply; Smith would have probably liked a run of games to follow so that they could have built on the momentum.

One member of his squad has actually been riding an impressive run of form for a long time now - either that, or he's actually now in the elite conversation because the rate he's been performing at has been simply stunning.

John McGinn netted the first hat-trick of his career for Scotland on Sunday afternoon as they trounced San Marino 6-0, but that merely epitomises how well he has played this year.

In the Premier League this season, the 24-year-old has scored three goals in eight appearances while also picking up the Man of the Match award from WhoScored in exactly half those matches.

No player in the Villa squad is averaging more shots per game than he is, which is quite remarkable considering he is a midfielder. He also ranks inside the top three for key passes at 1.4 per match.

Last season in the Championship, he bagged seven goals and provided nine assists, so he could well be on track to beat that even with the increase in quality of opposition that a promotion to the top-flight brings.

Aston Villa's summer signings' performances so far this season are rated in the video below...

He's still being talked about joining Manchester United and considering Smith only paid Hibernian £2.7m for him, any fee they receive is going to be substantially higher than that, meaning they'll make a significant profit regardless.

Yes, McGinn only cost £2.7m.

In the current climate of big-money signings and substantial wages, picking up a player who has given those returns for a fraction of the price they probably would have had to pay if they were trying to purchase him now is simply ridiculous.

There can't be many players in the Premier League that have been more of a bargain than McGinn.