Everton are thought to keen on exploring a deal for John McGinn but Aston Villa will stand firm in the face of interest from their Premier League rivals.
The Scotland hero has been Villa's captain for the past three years and missed just four Premier League matches last season as he also skippered them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Athletic is reporting that the Toffees and Scottish boss David Moyes are keen on the 30-year-old.
Everton have "shown an interest" but the former Hibs man remains a key player at Villa Park and Unai Emery is desperate to keep hold of him.
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McGinn joined the then Championship side for a bargain £3.5million from the Hibees in 2018, Celtic missing out after stalling on their own bid.
He has since made 285 appearances in claret and is a club hero.
With 77 caps and 20 goals for Scotland, he is one of the country's all-time leading goalscorers and also a massive favourite of the Tartan Army.
It would presumably take a mega offer to take him to Merseyside, if Villa can even be persuaded into selling at all.
