Jim Goodwin believes former Buddie John McGinn would star for every team in the English Premier League.
The 24-year-old Ralston success story has shone down south since his move to Aston Villa, picking up goals against Tottenham, Arsenal and Burnley so far this season on the Villans’ return to the top flight.
After bagging his first professional hat-trick for Scotland over the international break, Goodwin has backed his former St Mirren teammate to go right to the very top of the game.
“I can see him playing for any of the top six clubs in the English Premier League,” Goodwin said.
“John can go wherever he wants to go, it’s as simple as that.
“He’s got a tremendous appetite for the game. He’s so fit, he’s really strong. He’s got a great range of passing.
“It’s difficult to say where that stops.
“I look at Scott McTominay, who is playing for Manchester United. Without being disrespectful to him, I think John is better.
“For me, John can play for any of the clubs in the Premier League and not look out of place.”
Goodwin has keenly followed McGinn’s career since his move to Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian back in 2015.
He revealed John’s name is still held up as a prime example to the club’s academy players, and even comes in handy when trying to persuade other youngsters to join the ranks at St Mirren.
He said: “The club are happy to have played a part in his career in his early days. He’s a great boy. His two brothers Paul and Stephen are here as well and they’re a very similar mentality to John. Very professional.
“It’s great for the academy and for the kids here. We speak about John a lot and Kenny McLean too.
“The list of people that have come through the academy is something for us as a club to be proud of.
“It’s a great selling point for us when we’re trying to attract good young players to the academy, as opposed to choosing Rangers or Celtic or some of the bigger clubs.
“They can come here and, if they’re good enough, they’ll get an opportunity to go and play. If they do that, they can end up scoring hat-tricks for Scotland.”
