Ross McCormack faced the Aston Villa axe yesterday, being released by the Villains a year before his bumper contract was due to expire. This came after a variation agreement between both Villa and the forward.
It follows on from the news that McCormack was reportedly set to earn £70,000 a week at Villa Park, following their promotion to the Premier League.
He was a shadow of his former self whist on loan at Fir Park this season. He won’t have many options for a new club this summer.
Where does McCormack go from here though?
McCormack will have limited options
The striker was seen as a brilliant bit of business for Stephen Robinson’s side. He was a lethal goalscorer in the past, and even though performances had faded in previous years, fans were hopeful. McCormack looked to be one of the best deals during the January window.
It turned into a nightmare though, with the forward clearly unfit and uninterested. He eventually exited Fir Park through the back door, leaving after some very forgettable performances.
It’s so disappointing, because on his day, McCormack is a great finisher. Since moving to Villa though he has been unfit for the most part. When he does get on the park, he just doesn’t seem interested and that was the case at Fir Park.
He’s a free agent, so perhaps teams in Scotland will have a look at him. He’ll need to take a massive pay-cut wherever he goes anyway, so he might fancy a return home again.
Despite this, no Premiership teams should go near him. He’ll still demand high wages. For teams in Scotland, they can’t have such a high-earner on their books who isn’t going to deliver every week. McCormack can’t do that anymore.
Honestly, if you told me tomorrow that the ex-Well forward was going to hang up his boots, I wouldn’t be surprised. His love for the game is clearly gone and he’ll have made enough money now to retire comfortably.
It’s sad really as he’s only about to turn 33, he should still be able to do a decent job. That looks out the realms of possibility now.
Where does he go from here? I doubt many people will want him. No team in the Premiership should be gambling on the forward anyway.