Why Aston Villa must make a move to re-sign John Terry
As per reports from Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is considering re-signing veteran defender John Terry.
The 37-year-old Chelsea legend left the Midlands outfit at the end of last season after his contract expired. However, a return to Villa could be on the cards, with the player dropping a hint with a cryptic Instagram post.
Since leaving Chelsea at the end of the 2016/17 campaign, Terry joined Aston Villa for free on a one-year deal. Soon after, the 37-year-old was appointed the captain by Steve Bruce.
Terry went on to feature 36 times across all competitions, scoring and assisting one goal apiece. As a result, he guided the Midlands outfit to the cusp of promotion, only to be defeated by Fulham in the Championship playoff finals.
However, Villa haven’t enjoyed the best of starts to their 2018/19 season. After six fixtures, they are sitting 12th place in the Championship table with two wins and three draws. The Villans crashed out of the Carabao Cup as well, losing to League One side Burton Albion. Before heading into the international break, Villa lost 4-1 to Sheffield United.
On a number of occasions, the Villa defence were caught napping and Bruce must address that at the earliest. To mount another promotion bid, the club must re-sign Terry.
During the last season, when Terry was manning the defence for the club, Villa conceded just 42 goals in 46 Championship games. However, in the ongoing campaign, the Claret and Blues have already shipped in 11 goals in 6 games.
Bruce has utilized defensive midfielder Mile Jedinak alongside captain James Chester in the heart of the defence, which clearly hasn’t worked out. The manager has deployed on-loan Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe at right-back, despite signing him as cover for the centre-back slot.
And despite the lack of senior centre-backs at the club, Villa surprisingly loaned out Tommy Elphick to Hull City towards the end of last month, a move that has clearly backfired for the club.
If they continue shipping goals at this rate, Villa must kiss their hopes of a return to the Premier League goodbye. And that is exactly why they should do everything possible to facilitate Terry’s return to Villa Park.
The former England captain might be 37 years of age but he still has a lot to offer. With his leadership and composed presence at the back, Villa’s defence should have do better. The move might seem desperate, but it is one that is crucial for the Midlands outfit. Hence, they should act swiftly to re-sign Terry.
