John Terry hung up his boots in the summer of 2018 and took an assistant manager role at Villa at the same time that Dean Smith came through the door in October of that year.
He helped Villa get promoted from the Championship in his first season in a coaching position, played a role in them fending off relegation from the Premier League in his second campaign and has been credited for their top-half pursuit in his third year at the helm.
The 40-year-old has been a brilliant asset to Villa and Harry Redknapp believes he should get his first full managerial role with Bournemouth as a result, telling talkSPORT: “John would be a fantastic manager. If I was a chairman, John Terry would be at the top of my list.”
Bournemouth recently sacked Jason Tindall after losing four of their last five matches, as well as their last four in the league. The Cherries are sixth in the Championship and are aiming for promotion back to the Premier League, so they can’t afford to drop 13 points in a matter of weeks.
It remains to be seen how Terry would fare in the hotseat, but Villa are reaping the rewards of his work. The Claret and Blues have conceded the second-fewest goals of any team in the Premier League with 21 and also have the second-most clean sheets with 10.
Smith credited the 40-year-old for improving their defence and bettering individuals through his detailed analysis, saying in November 2020: “The amount of detail he has given the defenders has helped them improve individually and collectively.”
Villa may not stand in Terry’s way if he wanted a managerial job, either. Smith believes he’ll be a manager in his own right eventually and is resigned to losing him when the right opportunity knocks.
He added: “He’s been very good. JT has chosen the route to become a coach first, learn as much as he can and eventually he will go on and become a manager. If there was an approach, we’d go to him and get his thoughts. Our first port of call would be JT.”
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Terry has impressed at Villa and will likely take a managerial job when the time is right.
He will likely have his club’s blessing and the support of the fanbase too, but it would be nice if he did see the season out and help the Villans to potentially record their best Premier League finish for more than a decade.
