Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce staying patient in loan pursuit

Bruce is desperate to add at least one more striker and a winger to his squad before the end of the month, with Everton’s Yannick Bolasie understood to be high on his list.

The manager is quietly confident of getting deals over the line but has acknowledged he must bide his time in order to land the players he wants.

Villa face a battle in persuading Premier League targets, including Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Southampton’s Shane Long, to drop down into the second tier, rather than accepting offers in Europe.

“It’s always difficult when we are trying to do what we are doing, in terms of loan signings,” said Bruce.

“We have have one or two things on the go. We are quietly confident we’ll get one or two over the line.”

He continued: “The one thing I won’t do is bring players in for the sake of it.

“We are light in the wide positions and up front because of the injuries to Scott Hogan and Keinan Davis.

“We’re short and haven’t got and alternative at the moment.

“They have to be of the right quality and they have to be able to get into our team rather than just adding numbers.

“I’d rather wait for the quality. If we don’t get them then so be it.”

Bruce, meanwhile, gave his backing to Orjan Nyland after the keeper’s error in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Ipswich.

The Norwegian international fumbled the ball as he attempted to collect a long-throw, allowing the hosts to equalise.

Villa, who had led through Jonathan Kodjia’s opener, went on to drop their first points of the season despite playing the majority of the game against ten men after Tayo Edun picked up two first-half bookings.

“The sign of any good goalkeeper is to get over making a mistake. It’s how you adapt?” said Bruce.

“He is experienced. He has been there and done it. Hopefully his experience will see him through.”