Is Ross McCormack set to remain at Villa Park?

It is no surprise, given contemporary trends, that ‘FAKE NEWS’ has indeed crept into today’s Transfer Deadline Day. You wouldn’t face any blame, given some of the reporting, if you are under the impression that Sunderland has indeed completed the loan signing of Aston Villa outcast, Ross McCormack: (just ignore the Nottingham Forest badges)

However, that account is clearly not the official Twitter feed for Sunderland AFC. Following that false report, more reliable reporting from a number of sources suggested that the Scottish striker will not be departing Villa Park on deadline day:

Thus, it looked likely that he will not be joining Simon Grayson and Villa’s Wearside rivals today. However, eight minutes later, that story from the Daily Star was contradicted by the reporting of Graeme Bailey:

So it remains rather unclear as to whether of not he will be an Aston Villa player after 11pm tonight.

McCormack joined from Fulham for £12 million on a four-year deal in last summer’s transfer window. He has proven that he is capable of scoring goals at the Championship level.

It has been well documented that the striker had a falling out with manager Steve Bruce last season. However, if he remains in an Aston Villa shirt until at least January, we have to wonder what the immediate future would hold for the Scot.

If he were to continue to train and gain fitness, it would be interesting to see whether Bruce intends to give him more chances to prove himself on the pitch.