Newcastle boss Steve Bruce plans a summer swoop for Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn if his former club are relegated.
It was Bruce who snatched McGinn from under the noses of Scottish giants Celtic when he was in charge at Villa Park.
And he’s determined to win the race again for the talented 25-year-old should Villa go down.
Manchester United were tracking the former Hibs player but with Paul Pogba set to commit himself to Old Trafford, they have cooled their interest.
But along with Danny Rose, who is expected to seal a permanent move to St James’ Park, Bruce had made McGinn his top target.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Toon takeover and indeed his own future, the Magpies’ boss is determined to press ahead with his transfer plans.
“Obviously, we need to see where we are and what we are but we are pressing on and planning in terms of going forward,” said Bruce who has just celebrated one year in charge of his hometown club.
“And hopefully, we’ll be in a position to do some business sooner rather than later.”
He’s already held several discussions with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley and the club’s head of recruitment Steve Nickson and wants to recruit at least four new players.
While Rose confirming he is keen to join the Magpies, fellow loanees Nabil Bentaleb and Valentino Lazaro have not done enough to persuade Bruce to sign them outright.
Instead, he will try to sign McGinn for a second time in the knowledge that Villa fill find it impossible to hang on to their best players if they fail to stay up this season.
