John McGinn 'sliding doors' moment could have taken career away from Hibs, Aston Villa and Scotland

The current Scotland squad have a bit of a race on. Already three members of the group have been daubed into brickwork for posterity, most recently John McGinn. Along with Andy Robertson and Scott McTominay, the Aston Villa skipper can lord it over the rest.

McGinn is often described – in purely complimentary terms - as having a backside like the gable end of a house, so why not be depicted on one? The painting in question is in his hometown of Clydebank and McGinn was on hand last month to officially unveil it before heading to the United States with the Scotland squad for the World Cup.

“I am glad they fixed the teeth,” he says when asked about the tribute at the start of another extraordinary week in the midfielder’s life. It turns out the house belongs to the mother of one of McGinn’s friends from school. “He might feel a bit weird about it,” the midfielder admits.

While he now counts royalty among his friends and has a mobile phone littered with pictures of him with the ultimate celebrity Aston Villa fan Prince William, it could all have been so different. He might still be in America, just as a permanent resident. And who knows how his football prospects would have fared had he signed for Houston Dynamo, as he had the chance to do 11 summers ago. Red tape ended up nixing the deal.

“It was probably a sliding doors moment,” he agrees. “I have never been afraid to try something different. The irony is I haven’t really moved about much in my career. But at that time it had been a very disappointing year for me. I felt as though I needed a fresh start after everything that happened.” This included being speared by a spiked training pole in a training ground prank at St Mirren.

America beckoned. Days after Steven Gerrard made his debut for LA Galaxy, McGinn was in the same country meeting Owen Coyle and Sandy Stewart, who were then in charge at Houston. A complication regarding foreign player restrictions as well as an ongoing insurance issue with St Mirren saw the move collapse. “Was it a blessing?” McGinn wonders now.

Well, how many former Houston Dynamo players have gone on to win European trophies? Indeed, how many of them have written their name into Hibernian folklore by winning a Scottish Cup. Ever heard of Joe Willis? Didn’t think so. He once played for Houston and was there for McGinn’s trial week. The goalkeeper is now with Nashville, who Aston Villa played last summer in a friendly.

“He just started laughing and said, ‘Can you imagine you actually signed?’” recalls McGinn. “I can’t say where I’d be now. But I think it would be very different. I will always be grateful to Owen and Sandy for giving me that opportunity and then to Alan Stubbs (at Hibs) for taking a chance on me when no-one else was really willing at the time.”

“Everything happens for a reason in football. You just have to back yourself to give yourself the best chance to do well. More often than not, good things will happen.”

This has certainly been the case with McGinn, who just a few weeks ago became the first Scot since Graeme Souness with Liverpool to lead a team to a major European trophy. He deliberately kept things sensible after the 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul. “After St Mirren won the (League) Cup in 2013, it was the biggest lesson I've ever had in my life…,” he recalls, although that was the problem – he doesn’t recall too much. “After that I decided to try and enjoy these nights because they don't come around too often. And I did. And the next day I enjoyed the parade as well, but in the back of my mind I knew I had this tournament. When you’ve not achieved qualification for 28 years, you don’t want to make any mistakes.”

Although now 31, McGinn’s career appears to be reaching ever greater heights. He has another Champions League campaign to look forward to next season and this weekend, selection permitting, he will make his World Cup bow against Haiti.

Okay, there might be some regrets along the way. Indulging in a spot of Bavarian dancing on the eve of Euro 2024 two summers ago is possibly one of them. “Do I regret that? Maybe. At that point I am not thinking that we wouldn’t be successful, I had belief at that time. I just thought that when you are in Germany, they were looking for a volunteer. Obviously this mug was No.1.”

Things have been much more sedate since Scotland landed in Charlotte. There was no welcome committee involving oompah bands this time around. “There won’t be much dancing before the tournament,” he admits. “But if we manage to get through the group, I can put that outfit back on and do the dance again.”

Line dancing is actually pretty big in these parts. Just saying, John. Indeed, there’s little McGinn wouldn’t do if it meant guaranteeing a spot in the knockout stages. He is determined to take advantage of this moment in time.

Scottish players are back featuring in Panini sticker books again. They are in with the bricks from Liverpool, where Robertson has earned a mural, to a tenement block near Hampden, where McTominay’s overhead kick against Denmark adorns a wall. “It’s been a long time since we have that kind of thing with Scottish players,” notes McGinn.

“A generation’s missed out. But thankfully this generation of children will see us on the sides of buildings. Hopefully, come August, there are 26 of them dotted about the country.”