The Villa captain believes the January signing can kick on this season.
Aston Villa defender James Chester has admitted, as reported by the Birmingham Mail, that he was delighted to see Scott Hogan score his first goal for the club before the international break.
Hogan joined Villa in January from Brentford for around £9 million, but did not enjoy the best of starts to life in Birmingham.
After failing to find the net in any of his first four games, the 24-year-old then missed a month of the season with an injury picked up in the defeat to Newcastle United in late February.
He returned to the fold in time to be named as a substitute for Saturday’s clash at Wigan Athletic, and he crowned his return in the best possible way, coming off the bench to score a late second in the 2-0 win with a powerful header.
Villa captain Chester admitted that he is delighted to see Hogan get off the mark, and suggested that finally finding the net in claret and blue will be a monkey off the back of the striker.
“I’m delighted for him,” Chester said, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
“Like the rest of the lads who joined in January it wasn’t easy for him at first and then he picked up the injury.
“We were all pleased, first and foremost, to see him back so quickly. For him to then get back on the scoresheet is, I’m sure, a huge weight off his shoulders.”
Chester, like Villa fans, will be hoping that first striker proves to be the goal to open the floodgates for Hogan at Villa Park.
The former non-league striker clearly has bags of talent – his first goal for Villa was his 15th in the Championship this season – and if he can find his feet in B6, he could become an integral part of Steve Bruce’s side.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
