ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: JOHN TERRY is expected to agree an improved contract at Chelsea this week after the England captain finally broke his silence on Manchester City's ambitious attempt to secure his services by committing his future to the London club.
City had a €35 million bid for the centre-half rejected out of hand earlier this month but retained hope that Terry might agitate for a move to Eastlands for as long as he refused to comment publicly on the matter.
The 28-year-old had privately been unnerved by Chelsea’s inability to secure a marquee signing this summer, and by two years of managerial upheaval since Jose Mourinho’s abrupt departure from the club, but insisted last night that leaving Stamford Bridge “was never a possibility”.
He had held talks with Roman Abramovich before the team’s departure for their four-match pre-season tour of the United States, but has since met the club’s owner and the chief executive, Peter Kenyon, for further discussions during their stay in the US as he sought assurances over their long-term vision at Stamford Bridge.
Although Chelsea were always convinced that they would not lose the defender and believed they had an agreement in place with Terry, the player himself did not make up his mind to stay until Saturday.
The carefully worded statement released through Chelsea last night ahead of the team’s game against Club America will be the prelude for discussions to move on to securing the captain on improved terms likely to swell his weekly wage from €155,000 to nearer €175,000 – considerably short of what City were prepared to pay him – which should be signed before the end of the week.
The new deal is not expected to extend the defender’s stay at the club beyond the three years still to run on his current contract.
“I am totally committed to Chelsea and always have been,” said Terry. “Chelsea have also made it clear to me consistently that there was never any intention to accept any kind of offer. When you are linked with any club, or with a manager (Mark Hughes) who I have huge respect for, it will always make headlines, but me leaving Chelsea was never a possibility.
“I know there has been comment that I should have made a statement earlier. However, throughout this period there have been numerous discussions between myself, the owner and the Chelsea board and we all agreed that the timing of any statement would suit everyone involved in those talks, not any outside influences or agendas. What is clear to me following those discussions is that Chelsea’s ambition remains as high as ever.”
That ambition has yet to yield either Franck Ribery or David Villa, the players Terry suggested Chelsea should pursue in the wake of victory in the FA Cup final, though the club remain in the market for new blood. Securing their captain will provide a boost, particularly as Terry was intrigued by the project at City, though Carlo Ancelotti insisted he was never perturbed by the issue.
“There was not a problem because we have been sure that John stays at Chelsea,” said the Italian. “There’s never been a problem with this.”
The new Chelsea manager has already indicated he will build his team around its English core, typified by Terry, with the captain pinpointing the Italian’s influence as another reason to stay.
The implications for City are less encouraging, though a move for Terry had always been hugely ambitious. Hughes still hopes to secure the Arsenal centre-half Kolo Toure, a long-standing target, as he seeks defensive reinforcements to complement the mouth-watering attacking resources already lured to Eastlands this summer.
Guardian Service
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)