When Ross McCormack signed for Aston Villa three years ago, he was one of the most feared strikers in the Championship.

He arrived at Villa Park for £12million from Fulham and was expected to provide the goals to fire Aston Villa back to the Premier League.

The forward had scored 38 league goals during a two-year spell at Craven Cottage and had scored an incredible 28 goals for Leeds United in the 2013/14 season, winning the Championship's golden boot.

He arrived at Villa Park with big things expected of him, after joining in a deal that equalled the second-highest transfer free in the club's history, matching the amount they paid Middlesbrough for Stewart Downing in 2009.

What happened next was a major disappointment. McCormack only made 24 appearances for Villa, scoring just three goals and has not featured at all for the club since September 2017.

He has struggled on loan at various clubs since he last featured for Villa, most recently with Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, but has really struggled for form, with his fitness proving a problem.

It will be interesting to see where McCormack will go from here. It seems unlikely he will ever play for Villa again, despite having over a year left on his current deal at Villa Park.

His underwhelming performances at Fir Park this season have proved that he is nowhere near good enough to force his way back into the current Villa team, regardless of what division the club are in next season.

It is also unlikely that Motherwell would want to sign the striker on a permanent deal, after his disappointing performances for the team this season.

Perhaps he would consider moving to another Championship club, but he may no longer be considered good enough to play for one of the top teams in the division.

It is difficult to say where exactly it went wrong for McCormack, but one thing is for sure, a career that once promised so much now looks almost certain to end in disappointment.