Bournemouth in running to sign Terry

Bournemouth are serious contenders to sign John Terry but the Chelsea captain wants to delay a final decision about his next club until after the season has finished.

Chelsea announced on Monday that Terry, 36, would leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, with interest from China, America and other Premier League rivals. The announcement was made less than 24 hours after a 2-0 defeat against Manchester United that left Tottenham only four points behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.

Gary Neville, Terry’s former England team-mate, called the timing “incredibly strange” and said it could become a distraction to other players at the club. Terry picked Monday to reveal his plans because it was the one remaining moment of the season when there were no matches during the week and he now hopes the issue can be parked until the summer. Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke all made inquiries in January and it is understood Terry would potentially be attracted by the idea of playing under Eddie Howe. Bournemouth remain interested and want to add defensive experience.

Meanwhile, key Chelsea players were struck down with an illness before the game against Manchester United. The club believe it contributed significantly to their poor performance. It can be revealed that as well as Marcos Alonso, striker Diego Costa and winger Victor Moses both missed training on Friday because of sickness.

Alonso passed himself fit but pulled out in the warm-up at Old Trafford, prompting a late switch by manager Antonio Conte. Costa was below par by his standards, while Moses started the game but was substituted after 54 minutes and was a long way from his best.

Since then, Gary Cahill is understood to have been struck down by the bug, although, as with the others, it is not thought to be serious. Conte does not want the players to look for excuses for the performance and it is expected all four will be fit to face Tottenham in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Combined with the loss of Thibaut Courtois, who injured an ankle in an NBA promotional video shoot last week, the club’s preparation was badly disrupted in the build-up to the match. It is expected that Courtois will be struggling to be fit in time for Saturday’s game.