Monday 3rd July 2017, John Terry officially signed for Aston Villa. Seeing him in the claret and blue of the Midlands club will seem strange in the upcoming season.
However, he is a Villain now after agreeing to a one-year deal with Aston Villa. He even turned down Premier League clubs because he could not entertain the idea of playing against his beloved Chelsea. The question remains though, has he still got it in him to play another year?
After 22 years at his boyhood club, he will no longer be the veteran number 26 at the club; he is the newbie.
Despite playing 717 games for Chelsea and having won five Premier League titles, five F.A Cup winner’s medals, three League Cups, two community shields, one Europa League, one Champions League trophy and 78 caps for England to his name, he still had to beat out Stand by Me for his Aston Villa initiation.
This is unchartered territory for the former England international, but it will be made easier with a fellow former centre-half as manager. As a player, Bruce had to leave his comfort zone of Manchester United in 1996 and start again for Birmingham City. This makes him the ideal tutor for Terry, even if he has been there and done it all.
As stated earlier, he arrives at Aston Villa with a wealth of experience which will be vital for the younger players around him as he aims to gain promotion for his new club who finished 13th in the Championship last season.
Despite only conceding 48 goals, one of the better defences in the league, they could not score on a consistent basis.
Now, Terry might not be a prolific striker, but he is always a threat from set-pieces having scored 73 goals for club and country throughout his career.
It was evident last season that he was not up to the pace of playing in a top six side, but Terry has never been blessed with blistering pace, it has always been how he reads the game.
He is an incredibly astute and smart defender who can anticipate the next three moves like a snooker or chess player.
He also brings with him a real leader attitude. It is not expected that he will take the armband from fellow centre-back James Chester, but he will be a real influence on him and bring in that never say die attitude that has stuck with him throughout his career.
At the age of 36, Terry has been brought into the club to nurture the players around him while playing first team football.
Despite all the positives he brings onto the pitch, the former England captain does bring an awful lot of baggage with him.
There have been several incidents that have marred his career such as an assault in 2002, a personal affair with a former girlfriend of teammate Wayne Bridge (which saw him lose his England captain status) and a racist incident with QPR defender Anton Ferdinand which saw him banned for four games.
Aston Villa will surely have considered his chequered past before bringing him to the club.
This could be the final chapter of the John Terry playing book, and he will want to go out on a high. That high will be helping Villa secure promotion.
It is a shrewd signing from Bruce who had to fight off heavy competition from Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp to acquire his services.
Villa’s acquisition of Terry could very well be the coup of the season.
