John Terry, the club captain, a leader, a former captain of his country. The man has won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, multiple FA Cups and League Cup to name just a few. As well as have many individual awards to go hand in hand. It is fair to say, the man is and forever will be a club icon. Which leaves the question, can you replace someone like John Terry? Will Chelsea ever find someone that can achieve what John has through his many years at the Bridge?
Since joining from West Ham in 1995, John came through the youth ranks at Chelsea. Originally joining as a midfielder, however due to a severe shortage of central defenders at the time he was swiftly moved into defence. Terry eventually made his first team debut in 1998. Terry was brought into the first team playing along then club captain Marcel Desailly, arguably one of Chelsea best ever defenders. So many would say now is the best time to bring Terry’s replacement into the frame. Bringing young players through their youth ranks and into the first team is not something Chelsea are well known for, however with ever changing rules and policies on home grown players, the club have made it clear publically it’s something they are trying to implement.
Terry is known for his tenacious style of defending and his great intelligence of the game. However the central defender does possess extremely good technical abilities. In 2011, Terry was the third best passer in the world, with a 91.6% pass accuracy. With Xavi (93%) and Leon Britton (93.3) just edging out in front of the Chelsea captain. Alongside his passion for the club, he has become a massive fan favourite at the Bridge over the years.
With John coming through the academy at Chelsea, maybe the answer to filling the hole left by John come his inevitable departure is closer to home. Over recent years, he has formed a solid partnership with Gary Cahill. The two have served the club extremely well and guided the team to two consecutive European cups. This season we have seen the emergence of Kurt Zouma, the young French defender who signed from St. Etienne last season.
Many have already touted Zouma as Terry’s long term replacement, which is understandable too. He is a young talented defender arriving at the club as the curtains begin to draw to a close on John Terry’s career. Zouma has impressed this season as Jose Mourinho has slowly bedded him into the first team. Showing signs of immense maturity with strong performances against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. The twenty year old is a fierce defender with his incredible physical presence. He has also won the most duels this season in the Premier League, with who else behind him in second? You guessed it, John Terry.
With Zouma continuing to impress with every performance, he also is soon becoming a fan favourite at the Bridge. It would seem like the perfect fit for Mourinho to slowly transform Zouma into the first team plans for the future. At the age of just twenty, he certainly has time on his side and his best days are yet to come.
However, with Terry out of the frame Chelsea would be left with only two senior central defenders in Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma. If Jose Mourinho would be looking to inject youth into the squad, he could look to either Andres Christensen or Nathan Ake. Christensen is young Danish defender from our U21 side who is tipped by many to be a great success. He has featured in the Capital One Cup against Shrewsbury and Mourinho has spoken of his admiration for the player. Ake is more prominent as a defensive midfielder, but has performed as a central defender in the past. Ake is a versatile player with great passing ability. Someone who Jose could consider but is more likely to feature in midfield.
As a result of never ending speculation surrounding Terry’s future, numerous transfer stories have arisen. Names such as Varane and Joao Miranda have all been linked with moves to Stamford Bridge over recent transfer windows. This is something Mourinho will consider, if he is to continue to improve this squad he will need to add to the defence. Players like Christensen are held in high regard in the youth teams are Chelsea, but are still raw talents. The bonus of having strength in depth has shown since the turn of the New Year. It has brought the best out of this Chelsea squad and individuals who had slipped off the boil of late. Zouma and Cahill and both impressed when called upon as well as Willian stepping up following the signing of Juan Cuadrado.
Would signing a foreign defender for £30 million replace John Terry? In most cases, probably not. We have seen first-hand with David Luiz. As well as with title rivals Manchester City who signed Eliaquim Mangala for big money, who has also struggled. On the other hand, would bringing someone through the youth ranks all the way through to the first team repeat the same success? It would certainly be the cheaper option for the club, however it certainly wouldn’t be guaranteed success.
We have learnt this season, that some players just cannot be replaced. Cesc Fabregas was brought in over the summer form Barcelona. To fill the whole left by Frank Lampard, but defiantly not to replace him. Two different players with different styles, Cesc has been a revelation for Chelsea and Frank has not been missed in the starting XI. We showed our appreciation to Frank for everything he had done and we moved on. We had to continue to make progression and if it wasn’t for Frank moving on, we may not be where we are today. I believe we do the same for John, some players are just irreplaceable. We have to remember him for what he has done for the club. From there we move on, we then re-focus and re-evaluate the plans. I believe the club will benefit from it, like we did with Lampard. Regardless, I am sure we won’t see the end of Terry at Chelsea, whether he returns as a coach or even a manager, who knows.
To hear more from Ryan, you can follow him on Twitter @RyanDarby28.
