Aston Villa should plot a loan move for Fulham’s promotion hero Kevin McDonald

Add as preferred source on Google

Sky Sports reported earlier this week that Fulham were willing to send Kevin McDonald out on loan in January, with the Scottish midfielder starved of playing time under Claudio Ranieri.

Aston Villa should plot a loan move for the Whites’ promotion hero, who would slot into the Villa side and reclaim his title as one of the best holding midfielders in the Championship.

Integral to Fulham’s play-off triumph last season, McDonald was an ever-present in Slavisa Jokanovic’s side, playing 45 times in the league and the play-offs as Fulham gained promotion to the Premier League.

As part of a midfield trio that included Stefan Johansen and Tom Cairney, McDonald was the deep-lying cog of the team. The imposing Scottish international snuffed out danger whenever necessary, distributed the ball across midfield with ease, and always put his body on the line when completing his defensive duties.

Although Tim Ream won Fulham’s player of the year in 2017/18, many Fulham supporters also petitioned for McDonald to take home the award, due to his tireless efforts and dominating displays in the centre of the park.

The 30-year-old would bring all of those excellent attributes, as well as a knack for gaining promotion, to Aston Villa — who currently sit a disappointing 12th.

A short-term loan deal for Fulham’s Kevin McDonald may be the ideal catalyst for Aston Villa to kick off a second half of the season revival in their hunt for promotion, much like Fulham achieved with McDonald at the helm last year.