Fans pay tribute to the departing Chester
James Chester has made his Stoke City move a permanent arrangement on a free transfer after his Aston Villa contract came to an end – and Lions fans would like to see the defender given a send off befitting of his services.
The centre half, a fan favourite during his time at Villa, spent four years at Villa Park but struggled with injuries in his final year and was loaned out to the Potters in January, for a loan spell to last the remainder of the season.
In that time, either side of the lockdown, Chester made 16 appearances for Stoke as they avoided relegation under Michael O’Neill.
The Welshman has been spotted as the club commenced pre-season training, reports the Stoke Sentinel, and Chester did enough in his loan spell to prompt O’Neill and Stoke to offer him permanent terms.
Chester, now 31, made more than 120 appearances for Villa, the majority of them in the Championship, after signing for around £9m from West Brom.
The tributes from the Villa faithful flooded in upon the news – with a number of supporters calling for Villa to oversee the organising of a testimonial, or an equivalent, for Chester.
Here’s what fans said
