James Chester found himself out of favour at Premier League Aston Villa and he is now back in the Championship with Stoke City.
James Chester has already played his final game for Aston Villa, reports the Birmingham Mail, with the Stoke City loanee due to become a free agent at the end of the season.
In the case of the Welsh international centre-back, rather cruel circumstances are to blame for his current predicament.
Chester was one of the first names on the Villa team-sheet under Steve Bruce, an influential club captain who was admired both on the terraces and in the dressing room. But, after returning from 11 months on the side-lines with a serious injury, the £8 million man has slipped irreparably down the pecking order.
With Tyrone Mings, Bjorn Engels, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause all highly rated by manager Dean Smith, Chester was farmed out on loan to Stoke in the latter stages of the January transfer window.
And, with the 31-year-old’s contract due to expire in July, one of the most reliable footballers in Aston Villa’s modern history looks set to bid farewell to the Midland giants with very little fanfare.
The Birmingham Mail reports that Chester’s Aston Villa career is over already, and it seems that he is now playing for his immediate future at the Bet365 Stadium.
Should Chester impress in the Championship and prove his fitness after so long out of action, there will surely be countless second-tier clubs queuing up to sign a defender who was among the league’s very best during his time in claret and blue.
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