Should Chelsea sell John Terry?
The summer transfer window has been a record-breaking one so far, with the new Florentino Perez era hogging all the headlines since the capture of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Manchester City have been trying their best to not be overshadowed having signed several big names, most notably Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Barry.
Mark Hughes and Manchester City have since made it very clear that their primary target is England and Chelsea Captain John Terry. Having already had a £30 million bid rejected this summer; City raised their offer to £40 million (a potential world record fee for a defender should it be accepted.)
Chelsea are yet to formally reject the £40 million offer and John Terry’s extended silence has led to much speculation that he is considering leaving the Blues. It is believed that Manchester City are offering Terry a contract worth around £300,000 a week; this is double his current salary and would make him the highest paid player in the world.
It is understandable that most Chelsea fans would struggle to come to terms with his departure considering they witnessed the club’s most successful era under his leadership. Having said this it could prove to be a positive deal for Chelsea.
There is no doubt that John Terry is a fantastic defender, a leader, and as Carlo Ancelotti explained: “the symbol of Chelsea.” But his form has seen a significant dip in the recent times, in fact Chelsea win more games when Terry is not playing (68%), than when he is (64%). There is not much of a difference and an argument would be that a player of Terry’s calibre is instrumental in big games. However, in the games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, Chelsea won just once last season. Terry was involved in all of these games.
Furthermore John Terry has suffered several fitness problems in the last two seasons. He has damaged his ankle, foot, knee, shoulder, cheekbone and back, on which he receives treatment after every game. Despite this, Terry still managed to play 48 games last season, however will be able to carry on this way? It is difficult to see how a 29 year old can carry on playing more than 40 games a season with continuous injury troubles.
A further worry is that as John Terry ages his lack of pace will become more evident. In recent years it was rarely noticeable due to Ricardo Carvalho’s presence alongside him. One might argue that the Portuguese international has been Chelsea’s best defender throughout the ‘Abramovich era.’ However, Carvalho’s presence alongside the skipper is no longer a guarantee, particularly due to Carvalho’s recent injury worries.
A final point to consider is that John Terry is huge presence in the dressing room, and one that most would consider irreplaceable. Yet, Chelsea are perhaps the only side that have a natural replacement in their ranks: Frank Lampard. Such comments may be difficult to digest for Chelsea fans, but it is important to understand the extent of the opportunity being presented to Chelsea: £40 million (for an ageing, injury-plagued defender) could prove useful in the hands of a new manager who is building a brand new era of stability, growth and youth.
It is unlikely that the transfer will go ahead unless John Terry himself decides it is time to move on. Nevertheless, should this happen Chelsea fans should not lose faith and remember that when David Beckham left Manchester for Madrid, Manchester United became stronger, when Van Nistelrooy chose to make the same journey, Manchester United further improved, and when Ronaldinho was sold to AC Milan, Barcelona went on to win the treble. Some transfer deals seem like the worst idea to fans but once done can end up being the best solution to a clubs path to success.
By Toufic Yafaoui.
