West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has refused to rule out a move for John Terry this summer.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has told Sky Sports that Chelsea defender John Terry ‘definitely’ has a couple of years left in his career, sparking rumours of a possible move to the London Stadium.
On Monday evening, Chelsea announced that captain Terry will leave the club at the end of the season when his Blues contract expires, bringing an end to his association with the club.
Terry, now 36, joined Chelsea back in 1995, becoming club captain in 2004 following Marcel Desailly’s departure, and he has been a Chelsea hero throughout his time at Stamford Bridge.
Terry has been a mainstay for Chelsea over the last 15 years, and he has won four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, the Europa League and the Champions League whilst making 700 appearances for the Blues.
Now though, the veteran is on his way out of Stamford Bridge, and whilst some believe he may retire, others think that the centre back still has some gas left in the tank to play in the Premier League next season.
Before joining Chelsea, Terry was in the youth ranks at West Ham United as a teenager, and Hammers boss Slaven Bilic may have opened the door to a shock return to East London.
Bilic has today told Sky Sports that Terry still has a couple of years left in him, and whilst he wouldn’t confirm West Ham’s interest, he did note that every manager would like to sign Terry, and he’ll be playing somewhere next season – whether it’s with West Ham or another team.
Chelsea’s John Terry
“He definitely has got at least a couple of years left with his quality and experience and leadership,” said Bilic. “Whether that will be with West Ham or elsewhere I don’t know, we don’t think about that right now but I don’t think it is the end of John Terry’s career. He’s going to do well.”
“Every manager and club would think about John Terry if he’s available because there are not many leaders like him, but then again we have experience in that position, we have good players in that position, so never say never but to be fair I don’t think about that right now,” he added.
A return to West Ham would be an interesting move, but one of the criticisms aimed at Hammers centre backs such as James Collins and recent signing Jose Fonte is that they don’t possess enough pace, and adding a 36-year-old Terry may not be the best idea, even on a free transfer.
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