Since being promoted to the Premier League, Aston Villa have rarely been clear of trouble at the bottom, putting their supporters through a nerve-jangling campaign filled with relegation six-pointers.
It looked as though a similar narrative would play out in their last campaign as Villa were in 16th position under Steven Gerrard before the arrival of Unai Emery revived their season.
The four-time Europa League winner took them from the threat of relegation, utilising his managerial expertise to get the best out of every inch of his squad which saw them finish the season in a remarkable seventh place.
With Villa gearing up for another assault towards Europe, their rapid rise back to the top of English football is a testament to how quickly things can change in football.
In the two years that Steve Bruce was in charge between 2016 and 2018, he was expected to lead the Villans back to the promised land, but the man with four top-flight promotions on his CV ultimately failed to deliver that aim.
He was sacked in October 2018 with the club stranded in mid-table, leaving a trail of disastrous transfer dealings behind him with one of the few exceptions being the acquisition of John McGinn, a player who has been instrumental in their rise.
How much did Aston Villa pay for John McGinn?
While the veteran manager won't be remembered fondly by Villa fans – they will always be thankful for one thing – McGinn.
Having made several mishaps in the transfer window during his time at Villa Park, including the decision to shell out £12m on Scott Hogan, Bruce's final permanent signing – a £2.7m deal to sign the Scotland international from Hibernian in 2018 – proved to be his best.
During that summer, McGinn's boyhood club, Celtic, were chasing a deal to sign him and usually, when a player gets a chance to play for the club they support, they snap your hand off, however, Bruce had something special up his sleeve and used every inch of persuasion to lure him to Villa Park.
Speaking about how he managed to secure his services, he said: "How we got him out of Celtic, I don’t know because his grandfather was the chairman. It took a couple of games of golf at the Belfry with his dad until we could muster the money together."
Celtic's manager at the time, Brendan Rodgers, would be left bitterly disappointed that McGinn chose the Villans over his boyhood club with Bruce labelling this masterstroke as his "best ever signing", which is a testament to his achievements in claret and blue.
Is John McGinn an Aston Villa legend?
Since arriving at the club five years ago, the 28-year-old has been ever-present in every manager's plans, as Bruce, Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Emery have all taken a huge liking to the energetic midfielder.
Instrumental in their promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and now starring on the European stage, the "exceptional" McGinn – as dubbed by his former manager Smith – has gone from strength to strength since making the switch to Villa Park and while an influx of talent arrived this summer, the Scottish live wire has remained a constant fixture in Emery's starting XI.
Repaying the faith shown in him by scoring a 94th-minute winner against Bosnian side Zrinjski in their Europa Conference League clash last Thursday night, it's this sort of magic from McGinn that has etched him into Villa folklore.
While he has an influence on the pitch with his boundless amounts of energy, aggression and tenacity to win possession back for his team and cover every blade of grass, McGinn has also impressed his manager since stepping into the role as captain last year.
Hailed as a "perfect role model" by Emery, the midfielder's standards rarely ever drop and as per Sofascore, has recorded an average rating of 7.03 this season, recovered 3.8 balls, and made 1.1 tackles per game.
The £55k per-week dynamo, who has chalked up 46 goal contributions in 196 appearances for Villa, has also impressed with the creative side of his game this term, ranking in the top 7% against his positional peers in the Premier League for crosses into the penalty area and top 17% for passes into the penalty area, progressive passes and passes into the final third, as per FBref.
Demonstrating that he's the hub of Emery's creativity, despite the riches that have been spent this summer, if McGinn – who is now valued at £32m – can captain Villa to European glory by producing further match-winning moments, there is no doubt he'll be crowned as an Aston Villa legend once he hangs up his boots.
