Aston Villa were down in doldrums after losing the playoff final to Fulham, however, after a recent takeover of the club, things look much better than it was thought before. This will also be a massive boost for Steve Bruce as he will be able to keep hold of at least some of his players in the transfer market. One of the players who could have left was James Chester, however, he is now set to snub a move to Stoke City.
Steve Bruce had earlier commented that ”I have accepted it and committed myself to the cause and I think it is better to be open and honest with the supporters, warts and all, to say how it is. We know what to expect. We don’t want to lose Grealish, Kodjia and Chester but the inevitability is we might have to so let’s get ready for it.”
The comments were made before the takeover and now it seems likely that Chester will stay at Villa Park. Losing him would have been a big blow for the manager as he had already lost the services of John Terry earlier. That would have meant the club would have gone into the new season with a completely new centre-back pairing which could have been disastrous.
The Villans had one of the tightest defences in the Championship and Chester formed a strong partnership with Terry. Bruce already has a big responsibility at his hand replacing Terry, so losing both of them would have been an uphill task. Now with Chester set to stay, he can build the defensive line around him.
The 29-year-old’s versatility is also a big asset for his side as he is good enough to play anywhere across the back four. He had made 50 appearances in all competitions in the last campaign and even managed to find the back of the net three times while providing an assist as well.
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The Clarets and Blues will be looking to pick themselves up after the heartbreaking loss in the playoff finals of last season. Many won’t give them a chance to qualify for the Premier League, given the club’s financial status but keeping hold of Chester will definitely come as a massive boost for the Villans as he is also expected to take the captaincy role from John Terry.
