John Terry’s Next Move….

John Terry bid his beloved Chelsea an emotional farewell last season. After nearly twenty years at the club, the centre-back decided it was the right time to leave, a decision which marked the end of a brilliant era.

The captain, leader, legend may have experienced spells of controversy but deserves credit for the host of honours he has to his name including; five Premier league titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, one Europa League and the greatest prize of all, the Champions League.

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The 36-year-old also has a host of individual honours to his name such as Player of the Year, UEFA Club Defender of the Year, PFA Team of the Century, plus many, many more. Undoubtedly, whoever does acquire Terry’s services is inheriting a brilliantly talented and experienced defender.

At the moment, Aston Villa are the front runners and are 2/7 with Coral to sign the former England captain. Should the transfer go ahead, the deal is rumoured to be worth around £60,000 for the player.

The chance to player under former centre-back Steve Bruce may well appeal to Terry and time spent with the 56-year-old maybe something that the player considers invaluable should he head into coaching himself following his retirement from playing.

Midlands rivals’ Birmingham are also said to be interested in Terry’s signature. Harry Redknapp’s men were linked with a move for the defender before Villa and are reported to be willing to give Terry the wages he wants.

The Blues who narrowly escaped relegation to League One last season are 7/2 at Ladbrokes to sign the player. According to some sources, the club have offered Terry a contract and should he sign it, will become the Blues’ second free agent signing of the summer after former Brighton keeper David Stockdale.

Overseas, a move to any MLS club is 12/1 at most online bookmakers. The transfer would echo movements of fellow ageing Premier League stars such as former Chelsea teammate Franke Lampard, England teammates David Beckham, Steve Gerrard and Robbie Keane to name a few.

However, any move is likely to be heavily influenced by his family as the player is now something of a family man with a wife and two young children, a move overseas may be out of the question.

With that in mind, a move to China seems to be highly unlikely, despite the mega-bucks of the Chinese Super League. A move to the Far East is 22/1.

Many stars have recently made the move to Asia with clubs offering huge wages. Carlos Tevez, Alexandre Pato, Oscar, Victor Anichebe, Papiss Cisse and the late tragic Cheick Tiote have all made the move East.

Of course, Terry spent a short time on loan to Nottingham Forest at the start of his career, back in 2000.  A move back to the Championship club is 40/1 should the defender choose sentimentality. Just one year after that loan-spell at Forest, the defender was named Chelsea Player of the Year at the tender age of just 21.