[ad_pod ]

Following a Sky Sports report that Dean Smith has been appointed as new Aston Villa head coach with John Terry as his assistant, the club’s next move should be to make a fresh approach for Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill.

Villa’s defensive frailties

Terry and Smith are set to link up with the Villa squad on Monday, and Blues legend Terry will be keen to tie up some loose ends with the Midlands club after he left them in the summer following play-off final heartbreak. He captained Villa for the 17/18 season after 19 years and 492 appearances for Chelsea and has been a miss so far this term as the Championship club have been leaking goals for fun and slipped to 15th in the table, a far cry from their final standing last season.

The Villans went nine games without a win under Steve Bruce, having also conceded seven in their last four Championship outings. They have struggled with injuries and suspension, even being forced to deploy midfielder Mile Jedinak as a makeshift centre-back and more recently playing veteran Alan Hutton alongside Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe.

Terry himself may not be able to solve the defensive issues as he did last year, but the back four is clearly in need of a leader and he should play a big hand in bringing one in.

Why it’s a great signing and how it might happen

The former Bolton man has been a mainstay at Stamford Bridge since his £7m move to London in January 2012 but is now back-up to German international Antonio Rudiger and he has already made his disappointment clear, with the Telegraph reporting in September that he could leave in January in search of regular football.

Terry and Cahill have a long history, having played for both Chelsea and England together, and considering that the latter’s contract expires in Summer 2019 he could be available for a fair bit less than the £13.5m he is valued at by Transfermarkt. Could his former teammate convince the 32-year-old to accept an ambitious offer from the Claret and Blue in January?

It’s a transfer that makes sense for all parties, even Chelsea, who should consider reasonable offers when the Winter window opens. Otherwise they risk losing the experienced defender on a free once the season draws to a close.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”306215″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Fixture in Focus Croatia v England”]