Re: Chelsea reject Terry offer [Merged]
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ROMAN ABRAMOVICH is bracing himself to take the decision he thought he would never have to – to sell John Terry.
Chelsea’s new manager Carlo Ancelotti steps into one of the toughest jobs in club football this morning faced by a host of problems he has to solve before he can even begin work on the training pitch. And top of the list is Terry and his future.
Manchester City’s determined pursuit of Terry has infuriated Chelsea, particularly stories about the £240,000 a week the Eastlands club are prepared to offer.
Chelsea have officially rejected two bids for Terry, the latest an offer of £30 million last week. But the club are braced for yet another sortie by oil-rich City for the captain who led the club to back-to-back titles.
And it is by no means certain the man regarded as Mr Chelsea will stay. A Chelsea insider told the Daily Express last night: “There is a feeling among certain people at the club that John is too powerful, that he wields too much influence.â€
There has been anger among Chelsea’s top brass at some of Terry’s antics over the last year, and according to sources support for the England star within the dressing room is not total.
An additional, crucial factor is the long-standing back injury from which Terry, 28, has been suffering for years now. It flares up every season and is not getting any better.
Centre-back Terry has to have constant massages and treatment to keep the problem at bay, but it is a long-term concern.
Ancelotti flew to England on Saturday night after a brief break following his intensive language course in Holland. He met his backroom staff, including assistant Ray Wilkins, yesterday, and after being presented to the world’s media this morning he will meet some of his players this afternoon.
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Ancelotti’s first task will be ensuring that contract negotiations with a clutch of players, including Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Florent Malouda, are concluded as soon as possible.
But it is Terry who will dominate the agenda on the day Ancelotti is unveiled, to the fury of Abramovich.
Ancelotti will not be keen to lose a key player whose performances he has been studying on DVDs since April. He will sit down with Terry on Thursday when the player returns from holiday and demand answers. And only if they are the right ones will the situation be rescued.
Chelsea are annoyed that there has been no statement of intent yet from the Terry camp. Chelsea maintain publicly that Terry is not for sale, but if City’s next offer comes in at £40m, the word is that Abramovich may be tempted, and Ancelotti will begin the rebuilding of his squad without the player for so long regarded as the heart of the club.
That kind of money would enable Chelsea to bring in the sort of top-quality players they would need to replace not just Terry, but also his long-term partner Ricardo Carvalho, whose move to Inter Milan is still expected to go through. Ancelotti revealed – possibly unwisely – in his autobiography published just before he took the job, that Abramovich had told him he believed his team no longer had any personality, and that he no longer recognised them.
For so long now it has been Terry’s clenched-fist image which has embodied that personality. It may well be that Abramovich is close to deciding that image is no longer one he wants for his team in the new era.
Sources at Manchester City say the Terry camp are not discouraging the interest. Chelsea, in turn, say he is not for sale at any price. Terry knows that should he decide to quit the club where he has been since he was 14 he will face a massive backlash.
To leave for a club who will not be playing in the Champions League in a World Cup year would be inconceivable for an England captain under normal circumstances.
There could only be one factor that would persuade him – money. An offer to earn nearly double his Chelsea salary.
In the next 48 hours, Ancelotti will ask Terry to tell him that is not true, and that the much-vaunted blue blood coursing through the Terry veins remains a Chelsea shade, rather than that of Manchester City.
