John Terry will complete terms on a new Chelsea contract on half his current salary, but assistant coach Steve Holland says the former England centre-back will agree “amicably” in the near future.
Holland rejected suggestions of tension between the club and the 33-year-old veteran and intimated that the Blues are also closing in on new deals for long-serving duo Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.
"John has had an outstanding season. We have the best defensive record in the Premier League and he's played in almost all of that and been a major part of it all," Holland said ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
“I know that John wants to stay at Chelsea and Chelsea want John to stay, so hopefully that situation can be concluded amicably over the next few weeks.”
He said Lampard and Cole are in “the same situation”.
“We’re dealing with not just normal players, but magnificent servants for this club over a long period. Full respect will be given for those players,” Holland said.
Eden Hazard will not play today and "remains a doubt" for Chelsea's Uefa Champions League semi-final first leg trip to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Jose Mourinho’s experience of successful trophy bids on multiple fronts could prove crucial as Chelsea chase both Premier League and Champions League crowns.
“Experience is vital in any competition and we have a good blend in our squad,” Holland said. “We have many players that haven’t been in this situation before, but also a good group that have.
“We also have a very experienced manager who has been in this situation before and it’s good to have that experience at this stage.
“We’ve got the circumstances we have – this is a club used to playing a lot of matches at this stage of the season. Last season we got to the final of the Europa League, which was 15 extra matches, the year before we had 13 for the Champions League.
“We’re in a situation we’ve been in before.”
Sunderland will be reinforced by the return of defender Ondrej Celustka, who has not made a senior appearance since the FA Cup victory over Southampton on February 15. He has recovered from a knee problem and his presence is timely, with Phil Bardsley still to complete his two-match ban.
Liam Bridcutt (personal reasons), Ki Sung-yueng (knee) and Carlos Cuellar (hamstring) are still unavailable.
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