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The former Chelsea and England skipper has thrown his lot in with the Championship club in a bid to get them back into the big time.

And Villa legend Dean Saunders reckons the capture of Terry eclipses even Romelu Lukaku’s £75m switch to Manchester United.

Saunders, who scored twice in the Villa’s 1994 League Cup final win over United, is still pinching himself that the Stamford Bridge giant has made the move.

Saunders said: “Forget Lukaku going to Manchester United – Villa signing John Terry on a free is the deal of the summer.

“It’s a bigger signing. It’s the best signing. If I was the manager of any of the top six in the Premier, I would have signed him.”

“For me, that just shows you what must have been said behind the scenes by Steve and the owners to get him.

“John must have thought ‘I’ll have a bit of this.’

“He’s nowhere near finished. If I was Arsene Wenger, I would have signed him. I know he wouldn’t have gone there because he didn’t want to play against Chelsea, but you get the point.

“If I was at Liverpool, I would have taken him. Same thing applies, but that’s how highly I rate him.”

Villa start their season at home to relegated Hull on Saturday.

Their promotion hopes have taken a blow after Jack Grealish was ruled out for up to three months following kidney surgery on Sunday for a freak injury he suffered against Watford on Saturday.

But Saunders still believes Terry, 36, could be the key component to Villa getting back into the Premier League.

“Well done to Steve Bruce and the owners,” said Saunders, speaking at a Unibet event.

“If they have a good start like Newcastle then hopefully they get the momentum and will be back with the big boys.

“I’ve played against John. He’s a leader. He will sort them out in the dressing room and on the training ground.

“As a manager you can only do so much yourself and when you get on the pitch you rely on people like John to pass on the message.”

Saunders warns however that Villa will face a massive slog – bookies’ pre-season favourites or not.

“It’s a tough league,” he said. “I’ve managed Wolves and Doncaster in the Championship.

“There’s such a gulf between the top and bottom teams in the Championship. For example Burton Albion, who have done brilliantly, they will just make it difficult for you and not open up.

“Then you go to Millwall and they do the same thing and your crowd can’t understand it and get frustrated.”