Ian Taylor delivers verdict on first Aston Villa signing of the summer

By Danny Wright

Ian Taylor has expressed his delight as Aston Villa announced John Terry as their first signing of the summer transfer window.

The Villains confirmed on Monday that the 36-year-old had penned a one-year contract at Villa Park as Steve Bruce hopes to take the West Midlands club back to the Premier League.

Terry arrives at Villa as a legend of Chelsea, having made 690 appearances for the London club and winning a series of major honours while wearing the captain's armband.

Taylor, 49, knows all about what it takes to play in the centre of Aston Villa's back four, and took to his personal Twitter account on Monday to say that his old club are "signing a player that has big club mentality".

Terry certainly knows what it takes to play for a big club, after spending his entire career with Chelsea up until the end of his contract last month.

He lifted five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and helped the Blues reach the 2011/12 Champions League final which was won against Bayern Munich in his absence.

The former England international will now join up with a defence that looked quite frail last season as Aston Villa finished in an underwhelming 13th position in the Championship.

James Chester was regarded as one of the better performers in Bruce's squad last term, so Terry is expected to join forces with the ex-West Brom man in the middle of the defence.

In other Aston Villa news, this Villa Park striker has agreed terms to a new contract.

We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Aston Villa breaking news.