José Mourinho has guaranteed John Terry will be a Chelsea player next season and added that the captain’s new one-year deal “will not be the last contract he signs” at Stamford Bridge.
Terry will maintain his ever-present record for Chelsea in the Premier League this season by leading out the leaders at West Ham on Wednesday night having claimed the man of the match award in the Capital One Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur. The 34-year-old is out of contract on 1 July but, with a new 12-month deal agreed in principle, Mourinho is convinced the centre-half will extend his stay into an 18th season and beyond.
“What I can guarantee is he will be a Chelsea player next season,” said Mourinho, who also said Kurt Zouma has the qualities to be considered Terry’s heir. “I know what my board tell me and what the player tells me, so no doubts he [Terry] is going to get his contract. When I came back [in 2013] no one explained why his two previous seasons had not been his best. So I thought, physically, he is suffering. I thought many things. But, step by step, he has recovered his good feelings and is playing very well. This season even better than last.
“I don’t know [how long he can play on for]. At this age, it’s very difficult to predict. At Chelsea, we decided at a certain age – to provoke and stimulate the players, and make them feel the past doesn’t play a role and it’s all about the present and tomorrow – they get one year of contract. If they don’t accept they are not ready for the challenge, and we wouldn’t want them. John accepted that challenge last year. That is a guarantee the fire is there. If the fire is there, this contract will not be the last contract he signs.”
While Terry has impressed the management, Zouma’s progress this term has come as a welcome surprise. The young Frenchman cost £12.5m from Saint Etienne a year ago and, having spent the second half of last term on loan at his former club, has already made 17 appearances for Chelsea including key games with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City and, as a makeshift central midfielder, in Sunday’s final. Mourinho expects the 20-year-old to earn a first senior cap for France in the friendlies against Brazil and Denmark, the latter back at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, later this month.
“He and John are different players and it will be difficult to find a John replica,” Mourinho said. “Zouma is 20 so, in three or four years’ time, he will be a player of great maturity. Probably leadership, too, to replace John. Zouma this season is playing more than I expected, more than he expected, more than everyone expected. So he’s adding to his experience levels, which is very important.
“When you look at the central defenders for the France national team, you see [Raphaël] Varane at Real Madrid, he’s not playing a lot, but I know him and he’s top of the top; [Mamadou] Sakho, injured now; [Laurent] Koscielny and Zouma. [Eliaquim] Mangala is not playing for City many times, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Zouma gets his first cap and, when he is playing with France and Chelsea, his development will have an acceleration. In two or three years’ time, even being still so young, he will be a stable player.
“We bought him because of his physical profile, but we were not happy with his tactical knowledge of the game. We trusted we could give that to him. In pre-season, I saw mistakes. Mistakes in Germany against Werder Bremen. Mistakes in Hungary against Ferencvaros. When I saw them, I thought ‘no problem’, but it will take time. He’s bright, he’s humble, he wants to work and learn, he listens, he’s intelligent, so he’s had an acceleration in that process to bring him to a level where he is competing with Gary Cahill, really. I thought in pre-season that maybe [Branislav] Ivanovic would be my first option to replace John and Gary, but certainly not any more. I’m not surprised [Zouma]has handled it all. It looks like he can cope with it.”
While Mourinho is confident Terry will prolong his stay, the situation is more complicated with Petr Cech. The goalkeeper has 15 months to run on his deal but has understandably grown frustrated at playing second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois. Mourinho selected the older player at Wembley, where he claimed his 12th major honour since joining from Rennes in 2004, but Courtois is first choice and will start against West Ham.
Chelsea are keen to retain Cech next season but are aware he may agitate for regular first-team football, prompting them to draw up contingency plans with Rob Green and John Ruddy under scrutiny. “I don’t think Petr is a guy to be persuaded,” Mourinho said. “He will make his decision and, when he does, I think he’s very mature making what he feels is the best decision for him and his future.
“I will just wait, wishing his decision is to stay. That’s my desire. I would like him very much to stay. But I don’t waste my time trying to persuade him because it’s just his decision. If he tells me he wants to leave I will tell him my opinion, that he is one of the three best goalkeepers in the world, so huge money [to sign him from Chelsea].”