Captain. Leader. Legend. It looks like John Terry’s Chelsea career is over.
Our resident Chelsea supporting punters here inside the Football Transfer Tavern are worried it is the end of Terry, and are already identifying replacements for the big man.
The English centre back has been at the club since 1995 and made his debut for the Blues three years later.
JT has won 4 Premier League titles, five FA cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, The Europa League and The Champions League in his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Terry has also won Chelsea player of the year twice and been named in the Premier League team of the year four times, as well as being named in the FIFA World XI five times, let alone defender of the year on three occasions.
There are more records and awards that I haven’t mentioned but as you can see, a player such as Terry is seemingly irreplaceable, but here are just a few defenders that Antonio Conte could look to bring to the bridge this summer to replace the Chelsea captain……
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE 5 TERRY REPLACEMENTS!
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Raphael Varane
Varane is perhaps the ideal replacement for Terry.
Varane is young, quick and great in the air.
At just 23 years old, Varane has tonnes of experience having played for Real Madrid for the past few seasons, Varane also is a goalscoring threat, just like Terry often is.
The Frenchman is commanding and powerful but would cost the Blues a lot to lure him away from the Santiago Bernebau, but Roman Abramovich is known to splash the cash.
Our landlord thinks there isn’t any risk in buying Varane, because he is so calm and assured even at such a young age.
John Stones
Chelsea, by their standards have had a terrible season but Everton have been equally atrocious.
The Toffees can finish no higher than 11th after conceding 55 goals.
But nonetheless, John Stones is an exciting prospect.
Despite no Everton player particularly lighting up the Premier League this season, John Stones’ quality is well-known and he has already been capped eight times for England by Roy Hodgson.
Chelsea have been after the 21-year-old for some time now and Stones is almost a replica of JT himself, but of course will need much improvement to be labelled in the same bracket.
Marquinhos
Yet another young prospect here.
The PSG centre back has already won the French League title three times, as well as playing in Serie A for AS Roma.
The 21- year-old has played almost every game for PSG this season, including the matches against the Blues in the Champions League this season.
Incredibly, Marquinhos has nine caps for the Brazilian national team already and would clearly fit in in under Conte.
Aymeric Laporte
Aymeric Laporte has been instrumental for Athletic Bilbao over the last few seasons.
The France under- 21 Captain has played the majority of league games in Spain, before injuring himself late in the season.
Laporte has a strong, physical presence and of course has a lot of experience.
Chelsea can’t afford to gamble on a centre back after their shocking title defence this season.
Laporte will be hoping to break into the France national side soon and certainly has the quality to do so.
Konstantinos Manolas
Manolas is at least 3 years older than all the others that have been mentioned so far, perhaps giving him the edge over them.
Manolas is tough and very reliable.
The Greek defender has been an ever-present for AS Roma this season and has an excellent disciplinary record.
Chelsea could definitely rely on Manolas’ experience, composure and strength in front of Cortouis next season. Perhaps even the next Chelsea captain.
