Aston Villa forward Ross McCormack will not be leaving the club on loan this transfer window, according to the Daily Star.
Speculation has been rife this summer with the 31-year-old expected to leave Villa Park due to a lack of playing time under manager Steve Bruce. Fellow Championship sides such as Sunderland have been heavily linked all summer with Bruce unwilling to send the former Fulham man out to a fellow league rival.
Sunderland boss Simon Grayson had worked with McCormack before at Leeds United where the Scotland international enjoyed some of his best football scoring 53 times in just under 150 appearances as well as being made club captain whilst at Elland Road.
McCormack has made just 20 appearances for Villa, seven of those as a substitute, scoring three goals since joining last summer. With poor form and rumours rife of unprofessional behavior, he joined Nottingham Forest on loan in January and despite the Reds in a relegation battle he would only make three starts before the end of the campaign.
His one and only appearance this season was during Villa’s 4-1 win over League One side Wigan in the EFL Cup as he came off the bench for the final 17 minutes.
The 5ft 9in hitman joined Leeds for a bargain £350k deal in 2010 from Cardiff following 25 goals in 74 appearances and would go on to be sold for £11m to fellow Championship side Fulham four years later. Two more seasons saw the Scot register an impressive 38 goals in 89 matches as Fulham too would then cash in on the forward for £12m in 2016 with Aston Villa under new ownership and trying to get back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
If he is to remain at Villa Park and fight for his place then McCormack will face a daunting challenge with likes of Scott Hogan, Jonathan Kodija, Gabriel Agbonlahor and youngster Keinan Davis all currently ahead of him in the pecking order at the club.
