Behind the signing: When Aston Villa snatched John McGinn from Celtic's grasp

Aston Villa fans won't look back too fondly on the Steve Bruce era at Villa Park, - but they will always be thankful for one thing - John McGinn.

Bruce spent 102 matches in charge of Villa across two years between October 2016 and October 2018 before Dean Smith replaced him. He won 46 of his 102 games but relations soon strained with Villa supporters after the dour defeat in the 2018 play-off final against Fulham.

The Geordie, now down the road at The Hawthorns, did however pull off one of Villa's best-value deals when he persuaded 'Meatball' to shun boyhood club Celtic and sign for ViIla for around £2.75 million in August 2018. Two months later Bruce was sacked.

As for McGinn, the Scottish international has gone from strength to strength and has been a mainstay in Smith's Villa squad ever since.

Speaking about his move to Villa previously, McGinn put his transfer down to Bruce's power of persuasion over a bite to eat, leaving then-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers red-faced after an 11th-hour rejection.

"It was a nice meal," McGinn said. "Steve was great. He made me feel really welcome. He made it clear how much he wanted to sign me and that is a great thing to hear.

"He has coached and played at a high level and he is really respected. I think I can have a good relationship with him and he knows that I will bring 100 per cent.

"It has been a crazy few days and I am delighted to have joined a club like Aston Villa. I was walking around the Edinburgh fringe when I got the call on Monday and flew down.

"I just got a really good feeling about the place and knew that this is the place that I wanted to come. When I went to sit in the stand at Villa Park I could imagine myself playing there. It is a brilliant place to place. It