Former Chelsea defender John Terry is reportedly set to return to the club as the manager of the Under-23 team, once he completes his coaching badges.
According to reports from The Sun, Chelsea legend John Terry is set to make a sensational comeback to the West London outfit as the manager of the U-23 side. The 37-year old has reportedly agreed a deal worth £800,000-a-year with his former club and will take over once he completes his coaching badges.
Terry, a Chelsea academy graduate, enjoyed a hugely successful eighteen-year stint with the Blues’ first-team. The defender went on to make 702 appearances for the club, in which he scored 65 goals and set up 29 more, winning five Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League trophy and a UEFA Europa League trophy as well along with numerous other domestic cup honours.
The former Chelsea captain departed Stamford Bridge in 2017 after the expiry of his contract and went on to join EFL Championship outfit Aston Villa. The Englishman had a solid spell with the Villans during which he almost managed to lead them to promotion, only to falter at the playoff final stages.
Terry left Villa Park at the end of the season and has been without a club since. He came close to joining Russian outfit Spartak Moscow earlier in the summer, but the move, that would have fetched him wages of £3 million-a-year, fell through.
The former England captain was surprisingly tipped to reunite with former manager Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, while Aston Villa are still keen on re-signing the 37-year old and these latest reports of him set to return to Chelsea will come as a major blow for the club.
Terry has been training for his UEFA licences since 2014 and has previously expressed his desire to manage Chelsea. The Blues lost Jody Morris this summer, who joined hands with another former Chelsea superstar Frank Lampard at Derby County and the club are looking at Terry to fill that vacancy.
It is understood that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is behind the move to get the former captain back within the club. The Italian tactician had welcomed the 37-year old to join his coaching staff once his called time on his playing career, earlier this month.
A club source told The Sun: “John has made no bones about the fact he’s keen to get into management and obviously Chelsea has always been the dream.
“He has been in talks with the boss for the past few weeks and has verbally agreed the deal. It will only come to fruition though once he has finished his badges. An as-yet undecided manager will take over in the interim.”
A return to the club where it all began for Terry, as the head coach of the U-23 side seems very much in line with his long-term ambitions of becoming the first-team manager in the future. Having someone of his experience and know-how to guide the youngsters coming through will also benefit the club greatly.
