James Chester looks set to stay at the club with Stoke manager Gary Rowett all but giving up in his pursuit to sign our no.5.
The Potters have recently had a £10m offer turned down by us for the defender, but speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, it seems the former Derby boss has finally got the message that James is not for sale:
“He (Chester) is a player we would have liked to have signed, but Aston Villa want to keep their best players and they have been able to change their plans.”
Fans on Twitter are now hoping we can move on from this lengthy transfer saga:
Great time ahead for Villa
— Al (@alwoolley236) 30 July 2018
— Spencer Waller (@SJ_AV81) 30 July 2018
In other words move along…
— mjolnir_mar_emery⚡️ (@76maulz) 30 July 2018
Get in your lane rowett your manager of stoke city not man united stoke will never take our best players off us
— j (@leig9981) 30 July 2018
— Lucie (@thenib81) 30 July 2018
Hes rattled I think. Missed out on Chester and Ritchie while competitor’s are strengthening well.
— Boycey (@Boycey1259) 30 July 2018
— Big D ⛏️✊ (@Hot_Diggity_D) 30 July 2018
Yeh we have.
Now do one !— Lee Folkard (@leevilla78) 30 July 2018
Gary Rowett has no class talking about a player under contract look at pouch at spurs not once has mentioned grealish he is professional no respect for rowett
— tony wright (@tonywright25) 30 July 2018
Verdict:
The obvious turning point here was the arrival of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. If that £10m bid had arrived a few weeks ago, there could have been a different outcome, we’ll never though.
Luckily for us, Chester looks destined to wear the captain’s armband next season and will again be an integral first-team player under Steve Bruce. A report in the Daily Mail last week said that the 29-year-old could now be offered a new contract so let’s hope that comes to fruition.