Melbourne City midfielder Luke Brattan has joined the chorus of voices calling for Ross McCormack to extend his stay in the Hyundai A-League.
McCormack, who originally signed as an injury replacement for captain Bruno Fornaroli, made the final appearance of his loan spell in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle Jets on Thursday night.
City are reportedly investigating ways to keep the Aston Villa striker beyond his current deal and Brattan has given support to their pursuit.
“He’s a fantastic talent,” Brattan told Fox Sports.
“He’s done extremely well and scored a lot of goals. You can see how dangerous he is in and around the 18-yard box.
“If it is his last game we’re going to miss him but hopefully Bruno is back soon [for a] like-for-like [swap].”
McCormack went within inches of signing off with a stoppage time winner on Thursday night as his goal-bound attempt was cleared off the line by Steven Ugarkovic.
City were instead forced to settle for a draw after twice coming from behind at AAMI Park.
While they controlled much of the contest, Warren Joyce’s men are still four points adrift of the second-placed Jets.
“I think we showed a bit of character to come back and get the point but it’s definitely two points dropped,” Brattan said.
“I think we dominated. We were just sloppy again defensively.”
