Aston Villa should consider extending James Chester’s deal

Aston Villa captain James Chester has a contract that runs through summer 2020. Though he turns 30 later this month, the claret and blue hierarchy should extend the player’s contract another year or two if possible.

One man goes unnoticed when it comes to transfer talk. We nearly lost Jack Grealish in the summer due to solvency issues. He may still be moved in the future with possible FFP problems lingering. Villa recently acquired Kortney Hause on-loan. Moreover, they received word that Tammy Abraham is staying. Lovre Kalinic was brought in to be the new No. 1, Ross McCormack left again, etc.

Players come and go, deals expire, loans are secured, but it’s a club’s core that is always taken care of and exists for years. James Chester, a man that has missed one game in three years, is most definitely part of that core.

He also has a contract that expires in June 2020.

Aston Villa executives should do everything in their power to ensure James Chester is in the claret and blue for the next several years. The 29-year-old, soon-to-be 30-year-old is a dependable defender capable of covering the mistakes of others at both the left and right centre-back positions.

When a player, not at the end of their career, enters the final year of a deal, it always becomes a tedious point between player, club, and media.

Will he sign or go? Will the transfer sum be a suppressed price?

For Villa, it’s imperative they secure the services of a top-5 player at the club a little while longer. Premier League teams, rightfully so, have inquired. His form of late, despite playing through knee soreness, is solid – which suggests they’ll call again should promotion not happen. James Chester would be a starting Premier League centre-back for a lot of clubs in the top flight.

Chester will be 31 years young by contract’s end the following June. It’s never wise to pay for past performance, but there is little reason to suggest Chester will slow down exponentially in his early 30s. He’s never had major surgery on any lower extremities. In fact, he’s hardly been injured at all. Moreover, central defenders just age more gracefully than their outfield counterparts. This isn’t a blazing winger losing a step in his late 20s; centre-backs thrive on their ability to read the game, communicate with teammates, and defend individually and as a unit.

Something in the region of a two-year extension with a promotion bonus seems plausible.