Steve Bruce admits he’d have loved to sign John McGinn for Aston Villa six weeks ago

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Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn made a highly impressive debut after joining in the summer.

Steve Bruce has admitted to the Daily Mail that he wishes Aston Villa could have done a deal for John McGinn much earlier in the summer.

Villa were burdened with financial difficulty when the transfer window opened, which meant bringing in now players was impossible.

However, after Tony Xia sold his stake in the club, Villa were able to do business again.

They swiftly moved to snap up McGinn from Hibernian, and that move already looks like a smart one.

McGinn shone on debut for Villa, as he helped his new side pick up a 3-2 victory over Wigan Athletic.

And Bruce admits that he wishes he could have got a deal over the line for the Scottish midfielder much earlier this summer.

“It’s been a difficult summer for everybody, but the new owners breathed life into everybody and took away the doom and gloom,’ Bruce said.

“To give you an example, I’d have loved to buy McGinn six weeks ago but couldn’t. We’ve bought a very good player and that wasn’t possible four weeks ago. What’s more, Jack wouldn’t have been here, Jonathan Kodjia wouldn’t have been here and nor would James Chester. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.”

Villa have started their campaign with back-to-back victories, to increase optimism that a promotion season could be on the cards.

There were fears about what direction that claret and blues were heading in, but with new owners at the helm, Bruce’s side do seem to have remained genuine promotion candidates this season, against the odds.