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Steve Bruce has revealed that Joe Bryan was just 15 minutes away from joining Aston Villa.

As reported by BristolLive, the 24-year-old had passed a medical and he was on his way to Villa's training ground when Fulham called to declare their interest.

Bryan's mind was changed in the car journey from the hospital to the training ground and instead he went to sign at Craven Cottage.

Bruce has now spoken about the deal at today's press conference, telling BirminghamLive:

“We were close and I’m totally disappointed.

“He was here but we were probably 15 minutes too late.

“I’ve never had it that close before (and then missed out).

“It was painful.

“But in my job, you get used to disappointments.

“I think he would have been a terrific acquisition for us because Neil Taylor is our only naturally left-footed player in a wide area.

“He (Bryan) could have played in a few areas for us but it was not to be.

“It has happened, it has gone.”

Bruce had been looking to sign Bryan for a number of years and was delighted to finally secure his man before the sudden last-minute change

“He came up, had all the medical tests and came back to the training ground,” Bruce continued.

“In that 15 minutes of coming back from the hospital to here, his agent had the phone call.

“Fulham didn’t get their No.1 choice.

“And when the call comes from the Premier League, it’s hard to compete.

“Financially, they blew us out of the water in terms of salary.

“To be fair he stayed in the Belfry for a couple of hours but the longer the day went on, the more the lure of the Premier League and financial package, made him decide to go to Fulham.

“It wasn’t to be.

“It is frustrating and disappointing because he fits the remit of what we are looking for - young, energetic and a good player who has played two or three years in the Championship and done really well, but that’s life.”

“When I was younger I would be chewing wasps and wanting to smash everything in sight, kick the cat and the rest of it!” he laughed.

“It is all the work you put in, hour after hour after hour.

“But if it is not meant to be, it is not meant to be.”