John McGinn uses Aston Villa 'snapping up' two Scotland players to make point

John McGinn believes the vast talent ready to step off Scotland's production line means the nation will have more chances to reach major tournaments in the coming years.

Scotland missed out on qualification to this year's World Cup with a 3-1 defeat to Ukraine last week. Their defeat means they haven't qualified for a World Cup since 1998.

Alongside the Aston Villa midfielder, Scotland's squad also boasts Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, Arsenal's Kieran Tierney and Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay amongst others. Scotland have a strong core of players, and McGinn believes those coming through are equally talented.

McGinn namechecked Nathan Patterson, Billy Gilmour and Villa transfer target Aaron Hickey when discussing Scotland's young crop, before moving onto players in the under-age groups. The 27-year-old midfielder also alluded to two youngsters on Villa's radar.

"We're all hungry, still focused on being successful," he said. "Then you've got the young batch - Nathan, Billy, Hickey - who are making names for themselves in their own right. It's only healthy. I think there's players even younger than that. I saw that Villa are snapping up a couple of them as well."

The players in question are believed to be Rory Wilson, 16, of Rangers and Ewan Simpson, 15, from Hearts. Wilson is a prolific striker, while Simpson is a creative midfielder, and both have attracted lots of interest from Premier League clubs.