Former Aston Villa captain will follow in Steven Gerrard’s footsteps with shocking decision in Saudi Arabia

Former Aston Villa captain John Terry looks set to take on his first coaching role in Saudi Arabia.

The 42-year-old made 32 appearances for Villa during the 2017-18 season when they were promoted to the Premier League and retired from professional football shortly after. He later joined the Villa Park coaching staff under Dean Smith and Craig Shakespeare.

According to a report from The Sun, Terry is now set to become a full-time coach for the first time. After being approached two months ago, the former Villa captain is now moving to Saudi club Al Shabab. His new team doesn’t have too many big names on the squad, unlike many other clubs in the league. They do, however, have Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco and former Wolves defender Romain Saiss.

Former Villa manager and former England team-mate Steven Gerrard is the manager of Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, so it will be interesting to see if the two go head-to-head in technical terms.

Terry is currently working as a coaching consultant at Chelsea but the club are willing to let him join Al Shabab. The former defender had a brief spell at Leicester in the final weeks of last season, working with Smith and Shakespeare as the Foxes were unable to avoid relegation. It remains to be seen whether Terry will bring any of Villa’s former teammates or colleagues to the new club as part of his coaching staff. Their transfer window ends today (September 7), so it may be too late for him to influence the signing.

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Former Villa manager and former England team-mate Steven Gerrard is the manager of Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, so it will be interesting to see if the two go head-to-head in technical terms.

Terry is currently working as a coaching consultant at Chelsea but the club are willing to let him join Al Shabab. The former defender had a brief spell at Leicester in the final weeks of last season, working with Smith and Shakespeare as the Foxes were unable to avoid relegation.

It remains to be seen whether Terry will bring any of Villa’s former teammates or colleagues to the new club as part of his coaching staff. Their transfer window ends today (September 7), so it may be too late for him to influence signings.

Terry played one season as Villa captain before working as assistant to Dean Smith for three years at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath.

Terry played one season as Villa captain before working as assistant to Dean Smith for three years at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath.

Now, another career move is on the horizon as The Sun reports Terry was “approached by Al-Shabab bosses about a month ago” and offered to sign.

It is thought Terry will have a two-year contract, with two more possible depending on the development of the legendary former defender. The head of Saudi Arabia believes that Terry has enough coaching capacity and reputation to attract more stars to the tournament.

Ready to join the exodus of Premier League icons with conviction, Terry will soon face his former team-mate Steven Gerrard, who is currently the Al-Ettifaq manager.