Aston Villa struck transfer gold at Birmingham City & Harry Redknapp’s expense | OneFootball

Birmingham City missed out on the chance to sign John Terry in the summer of 2017

Harry Redknapp missed out on the chance to sign John Terry for his Birmingham City side in the summer of 2017, and it was rivals Aston Villa who benefitted.

The defender ended his time at Chelsea with one last Premier League title under Antonio Conte before taking the step down to the Championship for what was ultimately the last step in his playing career.

The Blues reportedly made an offer for the centre-back, but he instead made the switch to Villa Park to play for their bitter rivals following their underwhelming 13th place finish in their first year in the second division.

Steve Bruce’s side were aiming to compete for promotion back to the top flight, and Terry was one of several new additions brought in to strengthen their chances of a top six push.

Glenn Whelan and Ahmed Elmohamady both joined on a permanent basis, while loan deals were agreed for Robert Snodgrass, Lewis Grabban, Josh Onomah, Sam Johnstone and Axel Tuanzebe.

John Terry’s impact at Aston Villa

Birmingham weren’t in a much better place than Aston Villa in the 2017 summer, with the club coming off the back of a 19th place finish in the Championship.

Only 10 points separated the two sides in 2016/17 when Terry became available on the market.

It was obvious why Redknapp wanted to add someone of the former England international’s experience, even if it was clear at that point that he was no longer capable of playing at the top of his game.

Terry was a Champions League winner and five-time Premier League champion, along with participation in two World Cups and two European Championships, and it was that experience that he brought to Villa that helped them climb the table over the following season.

The then 37-year-old made 32 appearances in the second division as Bruce oversaw a fourth-place finish, earning qualification for the play-offs.

His most memorable playing moment for Villa was his only goal, which came as the opener in a 2-1 win at home to promotion rivals Fulham.

Despite the Midlands outfit suffered play-off disappointment against the Cottagers at the end of that campaign, it was clear that Terry had a very big impact on Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Birmingham continued to struggle and Redknapp only lasted a couple more months after Terry’s move to Villa Park.

Harry Redknapp’s sacking proved John Terry right

Redknapp only actually lasted a couple more months at St. Andrew’s following Terry’s decision to instead sign for Villa.

Steve Cotterill was appointed to replace the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, but he himself only lasted until March 2018, which led to Garry Monk seeing out the remainder of the campaign.

Monk’s side eventually earned a 19th place finish for the second season in a row, with 37 points now separating the two local rivals.

Birmingham watched on as Terry moved into a coaching role at Villa Park, where he played a role in Dean Smith’s setup as the club earned their place back in the Premier League at the third time of asking in 2019.

Terry was proved right in making the decision to sign for the claret and blue club instead of joining Redknapp at St. Andrew’s.

Even with all of the quality that he could’ve brought to the squad, it’s difficult to imagine Birmingham’s fortunes faring that much better in comparison to the rise Villa enjoyed.

Redknapp was sacked by September off the back of five defeats in a row and this really drove home why Villa were the more appealing option at the time, even if they were in serious decline themselves.