Former England skipper John Terry showed he was “destined to be a leader” when on loan at Nottingham Forest, right at the start of his career.
The centre-back spent a couple of months at the City Ground back in 2000, as he was making his breakthrough at Chelsea, featuring six times for the Reds.
Terry went on to have a successful career at Stamford Bridge, captaining both the Blues and his country, as well as collecting a haul of silverware, before a 20-year spell at the club came to an end in the summer.
He went on to sign for Aston Villa and after impressing in the Championship, he stayed on at the club as assistant manager.
Villa’s former assistant boss Colin Calderwood actually played alongside Terry in the Forest defence, and says the calibre was evident back then.
“We didn’t have too many games together as I got injured so I’ve had absolutely no influence on him at all,” the ex-Reds boss joked.
“The players really spoke highly of him at Forest at the time. They said how well he did in the games and how he handled the situations as a young central defender.
“It’s difficult in any league because it’s a hard position to go into. Only the goalkeeper is the one you get more exposure.
“You can get put around the edges of the team but when you’re right in the centre.
“He produced very early on what he became in the end. He was destined to be a leader and captain of any side.”
