BOURNEMOUTH WANT JOHN CHERRY!
Bournemouth want Blues legend on loan
JOHN TERRY is being lined up for a sensational move to Bournemouth.
Cherries boss Eddie Howe wants to sign Terry on loan after Chelsea recalled fellow defender Nathan Ake from his spell on the south coast.
Recruiting the former England ace, 36, would be as big a coup for Bournemouth as persuading Jack Wilshere to swap Arsenal for the Vitality Stadium in the summer. But convincing Terry to follow in Wilshere’s footsteps would be a huge task for the Cherries, given the Chelsea skipper favours seeing out the season at Stamford Bridge before weighing up his options.
The move would effectively end Terry’s 22-year trophyladen stay at the Blues as he is out of contract at the end of the season.
Terry made his Chelsea debut as a 17-year-old and has gone on to win every major club honour.
But the centre-back, who has made more than 700 Chelsea appearances, has struggled for game time since Antonio Conte reverted to a 3-5-2 formation. Terry has played only five Premier League matches this season ® and was sent off in Chelsea’s FA Cup third-round win at home to Peterborough on Sunday.
Howe is desperate to bolster his defensive options after Chelsea terminated Ake’s loan spell six months early.
The Cherries chief said: “Losing Nathan is a big blow. It will be hard to recruit someone of his calibre.”
Howe’s ambitious bid to land Terry has the backing of Bournemouth’s Russian owner Maxim Demin.
Wrench
Howe has helped Wilshere recapture his form and Terry might feel he is the ideal manager to help him prolong his playing days.
But leaving Chelsea would be a big wrench for Terry, who remains skipper of the side favourites to lift the Premier League title under Italian Conte. Fellow defender David Luiz spelled out how Conte has brought back the winning mentality to Stamford Bridge. Luiz, in his second spell at Chelsea after returning from Paris St-Germain, said: “Conte loves what he does and it infects all of us. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve worked with.”