Championship giants Aston Villa farmed Aaron Tshibola out to Scottish Premiership high-flyers Kilmarnock and he has thrived at Rugby Park.
Leaving Aston Villa for Kilmarnock in the January transfer window could be the best thing that ever happened to Aaron Tshibola.
The £5 million flop had found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place, not fancied by Steve Bruce at Villa Park and struggling during loan spells at Nottingham Forest and MK Dons, who even cut short his season-long deal after just 16 games this season.
But Tshibola’s fortunes have changed dramatically since he made that shock switch to Rugby Park three months ago.
Steve Clarke has done an excellent job at Killie, reviving Youssouf Mulumbu’s career as well, turning the club into European contenders and beating both Celtic and Rangers – but getting the best out of a player seen by some as a lost cause is one of his biggest achievements.
Tshibola has made 10 appearances for Kilmarnock and has not been on the losing side yet. He was particularly impressive in the recent 1-0 win at Rangers, shackling The Gers midfield with his high energy approach.
And, just to cap the best run of his career since those formative days at Reading prior to his 2016 move to Aston Villa, Tshibola was even handed his international debut for DR Congo during a 2-0 defeat to Tanzania in March.
It seems that the 23-year-old has no future at Villa Park as long as Bruce sticks around, but that move to Kilmarnock could have breathed fresh life into a career that appeared to be drifting worryingly off track.
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