A couple of years ago, the possibility of John Terry and Frank Lampard leaving Chelsea might have sounded preposterous and rightly so. The spine of the team – Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba – built by José Mourinho was probably the only thing that kept Chelsea going amidst a revolving door of managers.
[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]”You understand you can’t be around forever” – Terry[/quote]
However, it is slowly being taken apart as Chelsea prepare for the new era. Players of 30 years of age simply do not seem to have a place at the club.
Drogba left the club last summer, while Lampard is expected to follow suit in the next few months. According to the Guardian, Terry could also be on his way as well.
[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]”The competition in this position is really hard here” – Benitez[/quote]
Turkish club Galatasaray are prepared to offer him in excess of £200,000 per week to lure the 32-year-old. Terry has only one year left on his contract, but his position at the club has deteriorated dramatically in the last 12 months.
He is now behind David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, and Gary Cahill in the pecking order as confirmed by Benitez.
“The competition in this position (centre-back) is really hard here. Cahill, Ivanovic, David Luiz, they are doing well, too. Now we have four centre-backs, they have to compete and they are doing well,” said Benitez to Sky Sports.
Further, Chelsea are also not too concerned about offering him a new deal. All this could push Terry out of the door. The interest from Galatasaray should be taken seriously, as the club have shown they mean business by signing Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder in January.
Terry, himself, seems to have acknowledged this fact in recent months.
“You understand you can’t be around forever. Where I would go after that, it certainly wouldn’t be in England. I couldn’t do that to Chelsea or the fans,” said Terry.
A few years ago, the prospect of Terry leaving Chelsea would be unimaginable. Now, though, it is a serious possibility. The return of José Mourinho could possibly be the one thing that prevents a move in my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
