James Chester has commented on how close he came to leaving Aston Villa.
Aston Villa defender James Chester has told the Birmingham Mail that he was days away from leaving the club over the summer due to the financial situation at Villa Park.
Villa are back in action today after the international break, and having beaten Derby County two weeks ago, they face a huge game against rivals Birmingham City this afternoon.
Dean Smith will be looking to pick up another win, and defender Chester will be key part of his back line, with third straight clean sheet wanted today.
The Welsh international may be out of action after picking up a knock on international duty, but the signs look good that he will be passed fit to play.
Chester, 29, has been a key part of the Villa defence this season and ever since his arrival from West Bromwich Albion in 2016, particularly starring under Steve Bruce having played for him at Hull City.
After missing out on promotion at the end of last season, Villa headed into financial meltdown, and it looked like Chester would be on the move – but Villa were saved by Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, meaning Chester stayed put.
Chester has now discussed the situation ahead of today’s game, admitting that there was interested and he was days away from leaving despite wanting to stay, only for Villa to be saved, enabling him to stay.
“The interest in the summer, flattering as it was, wasn’t something I enjoyed,” said Chester. “I think it was a matter of days (before he would have had to leave). Steve Bruce was great – he was really honest with where things were at.”
“I told him I didn’t want to leave. But obviously if the club hadn’t been taken over when it was there might have been a few of us not here any longer,” he added.
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