Aston Villa

Koscielny can fulfil Terry role at Aston Villa

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Image for Koscielny can fulfil Terry role at Aston Villa

OPINION

Before John Terry was appointed as first-team coach under Dean Smith at Aston Villa, the club had hoped that the Premier League legend would commit to another season as a player under Steve Bruce.

Terry’s year-long stint at the club in 2017/18 had proved highly successful, with his experience and expertise helping to guide the Villans to the play-off final.

Conversely, the absence of Terry in the squad this season has seen them fall to some poor results before Bruce’s sacking, and even now that Smith has taken charge they still lack that leader with his experience to guide them through those tough times.

However, according to Calciomercato, Villa are now interested in a deal for Arsenal veteran Laurent Koscielny, who has reportedly been told he can leave the club in January [TEAMtalk].

While this may seem like a bizarre story considering Koscielny’s pedigree, ambitious moves like this can only be good for Villa moving forward.

The France international has been on the decline in recent seasons, and will not be particularly widely coveted among the top clubs in Europe.

Obviously he would prefer to remain in the top-flight, but if Villa offer him a good wage packet on a short-term deal then he may well consider it.

And, if he does, then Villa would be taken to the next level defensively, while Koscielny would be able to fill that gap left by Terry when he left the playing squad.

His experience is vast –  the 33-year-old has made 238 appearances in the Premier League and 324 for Arsenal in total – and he would bring that know-how to a squad badly lacking in leadership.

While this may seem like a far-fetched move, it is one which would vastly improve this Villa squad and give them the best chance of climbing the table this season, meaning they should at least give it a go.

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