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Ross McCormack and Aston Villa finally have the closure they both so desperately needed.

Well, maybe Aston Villa needed it more. But at least McCormack can now move on with his life and focus on the next chapter.

The last two seasons have produced little of note for the Scot who was once the most prolific striker in the Championship.

Incredibly, 21 months have passed since he last played for Villa, and in only one of his three loan spells did he show any resemblance of his former self.

Winning promotion to the Premier League gave the club the freedom to part ways.

Described officially as a ‘variation agreement’ - this was effectively paying up the remainder of his contract at a reduced rate - the ending that had been considered for some time. If Villa had been playing Championship football again next season, it might not have been possible.

Whether we’ll see McCormack playing football again or heading in a similar direction to Gabby Agbonlahor remains to be seen.

The 32-year-old will know himself that he’s still got the qualities to make a difference if he can get back into shape.

It’s whether he’s got the appetite to perform once again.

Many stories have been written about the ex-Fulham man who cost Villa £14m in 2016.

He caused controversy after the infamous bust-up with then boss Steve Bruce in 2017, blaming a faulty gate at his house for his failure to turn up to training.

But there’s always two sides to the story. His version would be interesting to hear should he ever decide to speak out in full following his Villa departure.

I can’t claim to know the striker well. My interactions with him were on a professional level only and he always appeared to be open and honest about his situation.

He’ll admit there were things he could have done different and maybe the club feel the same way too.

His personal problems didn’t help when he first arrived, and in truth, he was always playing catch-up.

Settling in the Midlands was difficult, too, as his family remained in London. It's easy to presume a well-paid footballer can deal with these things, but it's not always as simple as that. Well-paid or not, we're all humans with feeling and emotions.

Had Villa not sacked Roberto Di Matteo, things might have been different. He believed he was heading in the right direction under the Italian despite his goal record not entirely matching up.

But despite how it all turned out, Villa paid the big money for McCormack because they were getting a man who would guarantee them goals.

He was the leading marksman in the division when he arrived and his rarely missed a game, either, for his previous clubs Fulham and Leeds.

Things happen in life and football that change people and you can’t plan for that.

And just for the record, the alternative was Patrick Bamford who scored two goals in the following 17 months!

There's no hiding behind the frustration, though. Villa expected much more from McCormack and McCormack expected much more from his time at Villa.

There was never going to be a profitable re-sale on him but owner at the time Tony Xia was desperate to get him on board to give Di Matteo the best crack at promotion.

And in the end it took Villa three years to get the job done, without or without McCormack in the side.