FA PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER NEWS: THE UNSETTLING nature of Manchester City's pursuit of John Terry reared again last night when Frank Lampard, the defender's team-mate of eight years and widely considered to be one of his closest confidants at Chelsea, admitted he did not know whether the club's captain would remain at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are confident they will reach an agreement this week with Terry to reaffirm his commitment to the club in the wake of City’s persistent interest, which prompted a €34.5 million bid earlier this month.
Yet Lampard, speaking after the Premier League side defeated Seattle Sounders 2-0 at Qwest Field on Saturday in Carlo Ancelotti’s first game in charge, acknowledged Terry would simply do what is best “for his career” and, having himself been courted by Internazionale a year ago, empathised with his team-mate’s predicament.
“I don’t know what he will do,” said Lampard as Terry maintained his own public silence on his intentions. “Everyone at the club wants him to stay but I’ve been in John’s position. I had an option to leave last summer, to go with a manager [Jose Mourinho] who I love, but it came to me at a time in my life that, maybe, just wasn’t right.
“The situation still made me think an awful lot, though. It wasn’t an easy decision either and I don’t think people should criticise John for the fact that he has things to think about.
“You can never take away what he’s done for Chelsea. He’ll always be a legend. I hope and I’m confident that, whatever happens, he will continue to be considered a legend and to be held in that way here. But when you’re a successful player this kind of thing is going to happen and you have to decide what you are going to do.
“John’s a very honourable man and it doesn’t come down to money. I know John. I know he’ll be thinking about what’s the right thing to do as a player and, in the longer term, for his career. No one should doubt that John wants to be successful. He is a winner. This is not just about the money and people shouldn’t try to make it that black and white. It’s understandable [to react like that], because it’s Manchester City who have come in, but it’s up to John what happens. I can say that I’m very proud each time I play with him and, as a club, you want to keep players like John Terry.”
Chelsea’s stance on Terry’s future remains unaltered – “the player, who has three years to run on his €150,600-a-week contract, is not for sale” – and is likely to shift only if the 28-year-old takes the bold step of handing in a transfer request.
There will be further talks this week with the chief executive, Peter Kenyon, who has joined the touring squad, and the club are confident the matter can be resolved in the next few days with Terry remaining at Stamford Bridge.
While Mark Hughes says he will not give up the chase for Terry, the City manager has admitted he will look at alternatives, including another bid for Everton’s Joleon Lescott, should the Terry deal not go through. “If we come to a point where we feel there’s no chance of a transfer progressing, then we move away from that,” Hughes said. “There may come a point where we concede but I don’t think we’re at that point as yet.”
Terry played the first half of Ancelotti’s debut as manager, a contest illuminated by wonderfully taken goals from the former City striker Daniel Sturridge and Lampard. Sturridge played a delicious pass in the build-up to the midfielder’s second and impressed as Chelsea eased to success in front of 65,289 supporters at Qwest Field.
Luring the 19-year-old from Eastlands appears something of a coup, and a reminder of the established order, though Lampard conceded that City still represent a threat to the perceived elite quartet of contenders next term regardless of whether they secure Terry’s services. Hughes’ lavish spending this summer is reminiscent of the stock-piling of players during the early part of the Roman Abramovich era, a policy that yielded two Premier League titles under Mourinho, the first secured within two years of the oligarch’s takeover.
“We did what they’re doing now a few years ago,” added Lampard. “We found a balance of spending money and bringing players through, as well as winning trophies. But that’s not easy to achieve. There are a lot of clubs up there who have those foundations already: Manchester United, ourselves, Liverpool. It’s up to City now what they think they can do.
“To win the league must be their target. The owners have clearly enjoyed great success in their careers and don’t like to come second. That’s what they want to do but whether they can do it in year two is another question.
“It’s not easy to throw a lot of new signings into the team and get a winning formula straight away. But it’s a great challenge which will add to the Premier League title race next season and it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.”
Manchester City’s spending spree continued on Saturday night when Emmanuel Adebayor signed from Arsenal on a five-year deal. The 25-year-old Togo international becomes the latest big-money addition following the captures of Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz.
Guardian Service
