Championship side Stoke City have confirmed that on-loan defender James Chester will remain with the club until the end of the season. The centre-back, on loan from Premier League strugglers Aston Villa, was due to leave at the end of May but he will now stay on until the late conclusion of the campaign.
James Chester Extends Stoke City Loan
Time at Stoke
Chester joined struggling Stoke on deadline day of the January window. He had not made a single Villa appearance in the Premier League in the first half of the season. His only full 90 minutes came in the 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Fulham at the start of January, while he started the 5-0 Carabao Cup win over a youthful Liverpool side before being replaced by Kortney Hause with 13 minutes to go.
Chester made his debut for Stoke in their first game after his move, a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Charlton Athletic. He then played in the consecutive defeats to Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers before the Potters got back on track with a 2-0 win over Cardiff City.
He then sat out the stalemate with Blackburn Rovers before coming back into the side for the 1-1 draw away at Luton Town. His seventh and so-far last appearance then came in the excellent 5-1 win over Hull City, which proved to be the last match before the season was suspended.
Comfortable With Returning
Chester has previously explained that he suffers from asthma, meaning that he is in the high-risk category of COVID-19. His partner is currently pregnant too, and he has questioned whether the return to football is “for the right reasons”.
In his latest column for The Athletic, though, Chester says he feels comfortable around others and he has become a lot more at ease about the return, which has been provisionally scheduled for later this month.
He said: “Still, I’m relaxed about going back — even though I have asthma. I take an inhaler twice a day. I feel comfortable at the prospect of mixing with others though, given social distancing will still be in place. And we’re returning to do something we all love.”
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