Tony Xia reacts to Aston Villa’s managerial appointment on Twitter

Tony Xia
Tony Xia

Owner and chairman of Aston Villa, Tony Xia has taken to social networking site Twitter after the Championship club officially announced their latest manager.

Villa have named Dean Smith as their new head coach, and ex-Chelsea defender John Terry will be his assistant for the 2018-19 season.

Xia has praised Terry, who played last season at Villa on loan from Chelsea, saying the former England defender has the potential to grow into a great manager someday.

Thierry Henry was reportedly considered as one of the contenders for the Villa managerial role. But once it emerged that Henry is keen to take the role at Monaco, Villa moved in quickly to appoint Smith as their head coach.

The 47-year-old has left Brentford and will take the charge at the club shortly. He guided Brentford to top 10 finishes in the Championship in each of his three seasons as boss.

Terry announced his retirement on Sunday and will take the assistant managerial role at the club. Jesus Garcia Pitarch joins the club as the sporting director.

Villa sacked Bruce earlier this month following a run of poor results where they picked up only one win in nine Championship games.

Arrow to top