'Don't write him off': David McGoldrick's ex-teammate urges Mansfield Town fans to stick with injured striker

Washington has a lot to say about his former teammate following their time at Sheffield United together.

The Blades signed both strikers ahead of the 2018/19 season, which saw Chris Wilder’s side promoted to the Premier League. McGoldrick played a key part in the step up to top flight football, earning the club’s Player of the Year award after scoring 15 Championship goals.

Over the course of his career, the 38-year-old has been named Player of the Year at multiple other clubs, including Derby County and most recently Barnsley, who he represented before joining Mansfield Town.

McGoldrick scored 15 goals in League One with Barnsley last season, which attracted Stags to him over the summer window.

However, the striker has struggled with his fitness since arriving at the One Call Stadium and he is yet to score his first competitive goal in amber and blue.

But Washington has stressed there is much more to McGoldrick’s games and believes he will make an impact on Stags this season.

“Didzy is genuinely one of the best players I’ve played with. His understanding of the game is incredible, but what makes him so good is that he’s got the technical ability to actually execute the things he sees,” Washington said in his latest column for BestBettingBonuses.

“He’s also a top professional. When I played with him, he was constantly on top of his gym work and looking after himself, and he’s always kept himself in fantastic shape.

“Obviously, coming back from injury at his age isn’t straightforward, and he’ll need a bit of time to get his sharpness back, but I certainly wouldn’t be writing him off.”

McGoldrick missed the first two league games of the season through injury but returned relatively quickly with a substitute appearance against Luton Town.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the 38-year-old was back in the treatment room. McGoldrick hasn’t played since Burton on 19 September as he continues to navigate his way through a knee problem.

“The other thing with Didzy is that he’s such a clever footballer who’s never really relied on his physicality to be effective,” Washington continued.

“His game is built around his intelligence, movement, awareness and technical quality, and those aren’t things that suddenly disappear as you get older.

“People will naturally look at the fact he hasn’t scored yet, but I think judging him purely on goals would be doing him a disservice. He can influence games in so many different ways, whether that’s bringing others into play, creating chances or just helping the team keep possession in difficult areas.

“I’ve got absolutely no doubt he can still have a big influence on games at this level.”