Tommy Elphick is likely to be considered as John Terryâs replacement at Aston Villa.
News broke yesterday evening that Terry would be leaving Villa Park after just 12 months, with the Sky Bet Championship club not offering the ex-England centre-back fresh terms, after failure to reach the Premier League.
Villa were beaten 1-0 by Fulham in last Saturdayâs play-off final, leaving Steve Bruceâs side facing a third consecutive year in the Championship, but without Terry, who captained the club over the last year.
Gregg Evans from the Birmingham Mail tweeted to confirm Terryâs exit, alongside a news article. The journalists tweet offered a reminder that Elphick remained contracted at Villa Park, with the centre-back seemingly well in consideration to be a part of next seasonâs squad.
Elphick joined Villa in the summer of 2016, agreeing a three-year deal at Villa Park.
However, the 30-year-oldâs spell in claret and blue has been a frustrating one, with Elphick managing just 32 appearances across all competitions.
Villa opted to send Elphick out on-loan last season, with the defender linking up with Reading on a temporary basis.
Elphick managed just four appearances for the Royals in an injury-hit spell.
The Verdict
Thereâs little doubt that Terryâs departure has left a huge hole in Villaâs defence to fill.
Whoever is tasked with doing so needs to put in some big performances, and Villaâs supporters will not be convinced that Elphick is the man to do that, given his form for the club so far.
However, prior to his move to Villa, the 30-year-old was superb for Bournemouth.
Itâd be a risk, but Villa look like they will have to take plenty of risks over the summer.
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