ST MIRREN will bank close to £1million from the transfer of former midfield ace from Hibernian to Aston Villa.

The English outfit have beaten Celtic to the signing of the 23-year-old Scotland international John McGinn.

Celtic matched Villa's offer after having three bids rejected earlier in the summer but McGinn signed for the Sky Bet Championship club following talks with manager Steve Bruce.

He has signed a four-year contract after Villa paid an undisclosed fee, which is believed to be £2.75m with potential add-ons.

St Mirren will receive a third of the fee as part of the deal that took McGinn to Easter Road in 2015.

McGinn said: "It's been a crazy few days and I'm just glad to get it done.

"I had the phone call on Monday night. I was wandering around the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and jumped on a flight and had a look about the place, met the manager and coaching staff and got a real good feeling about the place.

"I knew I would fit in, I knew this was the place I wanted to come. The one that got it for me was when I sat in the stand at Villa Park and I could picture myself playing there. It's such a brilliant stadium and the fans are so passionate.

"It just felt right and I can't wait to get my teeth into it."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers had made it clear McGinn was one of his top summer targets but Bruce had the advantage of pitching for his club over dinner on Tuesday night after Villa had a bid accepted first.

The Gazette:

Brendan Rodgers (pictured right with Kieran Tierney) was left frustrated by his failrue to land McGinn 

McGinn, whose grandfather Jack was a Celtic chairman, added: "Myself, my agents and family sat with Steve and had a great chat and he was very honest and made me feel really welcome and made it clear how much he wanted me as a player.

"That's a great thing to hear, a guy that has played at the top level and coached hundreds of games as well at a high level. He is respected, everyone says good things about him and I think I can have a good relationship with him and he knows I will bring 100 per cent in every training session and match.

"It was a nice meal and thankfully, after that, I made the right call."