John Terry’s time at Chelsea isn’t over just yet, for neither the very immediate future nor slightly-longer-term future, according to interim Blues manager Guus Hiddink, who on Tuesday revealed a final decision on the captain’s future has not been made from the club’s part.
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While Terry said on Sunday he will not be extended an offer for a contract extension beyond this season, Hiddink refuted that claim two days later, saying “the door is not shut” with regards to a potential contract offer from the club.
Still without a permanent manager in place, so many unknowns make it impossible to know whether or not the 18-year-veteran will be afforded one more season with the only club he’s ever known, according to Hiddink — quotes from Goal.com:“I also had some conversations with [Terry] in the past days about all kinds of things in football. A lot was said by John and he is entitled, after the contract is ending at the end of the season, to make up his mind.
“On the other hand, there is also the club’s side. I think they still want to have the dialogue to have an open door. It was a bit surprising but he is entitled to make the decision, which is entirely up to him.
“There is no specific decision made yet. You have to see the progress that is made in the transition of the management as well. We have to see it from his side and the club’s side. The door is not shut. Dialogue is always possible.”
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“John’s statistics and the view I have on him – he’s very fit – and he is not what you normally see in a 35- or 36-year-old player. You usually feel that you are getting a little bit slower and you cannot accept it, but none of that for John.”
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At the end of the day, whoever is installed as the new manager will likely have the final say on Terry’s future. It came as a genuine shock to many that the club would not extend Terry’s contract and keep him on another season, given the standout performances that led the Blues to the Premier League title last season and another similarly strong campaign in 2015-16.
At this point, it’s nigh impossible to envisage Terry playing for a club other than Chelsea. It’s almost equally unfathomable to imagine him calling it a day at 35 years of age when he’s clearly still got so much left to give as a player.
