Jack Grealish and Sam Johnstone were just a number of players to pay tribute to James Chester after he spoke about his Aston Villa exit on Instagram.
Chester posted a lengthy message where he thanked everyone at Villa and labelled their fans as ‘one of the best fan bases any player could wish for’.
The popular defender has now joined Championship side Stoke City on a permanent basis – he was on-loan at the club from Villa last season.
Grealish’s emotional message to Chester on Instagram read: “Good luck legend. What a human. My captain.” He then posted the following on Twitter.
John Terry also shared his thoughts as he stated: “Loved playing alongside this man. Rolls Royce…unbelievable player and man. LEGEND. Good luck partner.”
West Brom goalkeeper, Johnstone, who spent 18 months on-loan at Villa Park, simply stated: “All the best fella.”
From the perspective of the Villa Park fans, it is an emotional goodbye to Chester and a player who will go down in their legendary books.
During Villa’s promotion season, Chester put his career on the line during the winter period when he played through injury for the then-struggling side, who didn’t have another fit centre-back on their books.
Those matches Chester played through, those vital points Villa earned, all ended up being crucial in Dean Smith’s side making a return to the Premier League. And fans will always be grateful to him for that.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
