John Terry confident of Chelsea stay despite delay in contract negotiations
John Terry says he is confident of staying at Chelsea next season, despite admitting to the fact that he is still waiting for the club to start negotiations. Terry signed a new one-year contract last summer and his deal is about to expire by the end of the season.
The 34-year-old is one of the three players, alongside Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic, who have started in all of Chelsea’s league games this season. Terry is also the club’s captain.
The former England international signed a one-year contract last summer owing to Chelsea’ policy of awarding only 12-month-extensions to players over 30. The veteran player is, however, unfazed by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy’s failure to open contract talks yet and said he is happy to wait till the end of the season.
He said, “The club know my position, hopefully, I know theirs and it will get done. No talks have happened yet between myself and the club, but we both respect each other’s position. There are more important players here. Hazard’s one.
“For me, [securing him to a new contract until 2020] was the most important for the club. Without anyone telling me that, I knew that was the first priority for them. Hopefully they’ll be knocking on the door soon.
“I’ll be happy with one more year and then we’ll see how we go year by year. I’ve not got much choice. The first year [when his last long-term deal was running down] I was maybe a bit nervous and edgy and hoping and knocking on their door myself. But we had a good chat. I know their position and they know mine. I want to stay and hopefully my performances are showing that and they want to keep me.”
Terry on a special training regime to keep himself fit
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has previously stated that there are ‘No doubts’ over Terry staying at the club. The 34-year-old has been put under a specific training regime by the medical staff at Stamford Bridge to give him every opportunity to feature as much as possible. Terry was also granted a brief leave before the hectic Christmas calendar to maintain his fitness.
The player too is desperate to play as much as possible for his club. He said, “I don’t want to [rest]. There’s a lot of pressure. I’m coming to the end of my career, so it’s important I stay fit and play as much as I can. It’s difficult when you see young boys come in like Kurt [Zouma]. He’s been a revelation since he came in: he’s young, fit, strong and hungry and it makes it even more difficult.
“When Gary Cahill plays he’s been great, and when Kurt plays he’s been great, so it’s hard to get the balance, but we’re all rotating and there’s enough games to share around. We all want to play every game. They’re fighting it out and it could be me anytime. It’s important to remain top of the league and everyone gets their game time.”