Aston Villa's John McGinn has been linked with a summer move to Newcastle United after finding life in the Premier League as easy as he did in the Championship.
Back in November, the Scottish international was linked with a move to Manchester United - something Bruce tipped him for back then.
Fast forward five moments, and it's Newcastle who have now been linked with a move.
The United head coach knows the talents of McGinn - and so he should considering he was the man who brought to the Midlands from Hibernian in July 2018.
Just three months later Bruce was sacked by Villa but still considers McGinn as one his best signings - and believes he can certainly play for a top side.
"Yes, from what he has done in 12 months," Bruce replied when asked about McGinn playing for a side like Manchester United.
"He can only improve.
"He is at that level."
McGinn signed at a time when Villa's finances were poor, and the club having lost in the play-off final to Fulham were making cuts just to survive.
Bruce, who was heavily involved in trying to keep the club afloat, admits that things became so bad that McGinn nearly didn't complete his move.
“A club like Villa we didn’t have £2m, in the end we got him.
"How we got him out of Celtic I don’t know because his grandfather was the chairman.
"It took a couple of games of golf at the Belfry with his dad until we could muster the money together. I am delighted for the kid because he is a smashing lad.
"It took him a minute to win over the supporters because he crashed into a tackle and sprayed a 50 yard pass, and have a shot in first few minutes.
"He has to be one of my best ever signings because he has a determination to do well. Him and Grealish in the middle, Grealish is a top, top player."
