Aston Villa’s James Chester has a lot to worry about at the moment.
You could forgive James Chester if he was questioning his role at Aston Villa this season.
The newly-promoted Premier League side have signed no fewer than four centre-backs this summer, the latest of which was Bjorn Engels who joined Aston Villa for £9 million on Tuesday night.
The big man follows Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause to Bodymoor Heath, leaving Chester, an £8 million signing in 2016 [The Birmingham Mail], as Smith’s fifth-choice central defender potentially.
Chester has endured an injury-ravaged 2019 and hasn’t kicked a ball for the Villans since the end of January.
But Smith has told the club’s Twitter account that the Wales international remains in his plans, revealing that he expects the 30-year-old to be in contention when Aston Villa visit Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League curtain raiser on August 10.
He said: “We’re managing James Chester. I want him challenging for that first game of the season. We all know what a good player he is and one who has played in the Premier League.”
In spite of Smith’s comments, you wonder if the former Hull City defender feels optimistic about his first-team prospects.
Not only are there long-standing injury worries to contend with but, as noted, there’s now fitter and younger players ahead of him in the pecking order and only time will tell if he can defy the challenges facing him.
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