London: John Terry has suggested that Chelsea will be handing Arsenal a potentially crucial advantage in the Premier League title race next season by sanctioning the £11-million (Dh64.04 million) sale of goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Chelsea finished 12 points ahead of Arsene Wenger’s team last season but, with Arsenal now hoping to announce the signing of Cech before the end of the week, Terry has warned that it could be a decisive moment.
“There’s talk of Arsenal signing Petr Cech and, if they do get him, he will strengthen them for sure,” said Terry, the Chelsea captain. “He will save them 12 or 15 points a season.”
Terry’s comments, as well as the reservations of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, have done nothing to derail the progress of talks between the two clubs.
As of Monday night, negotiations were at an advanced stage and a deal should be complete in the coming days, although formal confirmation is not expected until either the end of this week or early next.
Viktor Kolar, Cech’s agent, said: “Transfer of Petr Cech is not closed yet — we will inform the public as soon as it happens.”
Terry’s intervention follows Mourinho’s public admission that he would prefer Chelsea to hold Cech to his contract for another season rather than let him join a rival club such as Arsenal.
The situation underlines the limitations of Mourinho’s power at Chelsea, even after winning two trophies this season, but also the strength of the relationship between Cech and Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to Chelsea over the past 11 years, Cech has simply been told that he can join the club of his choice provided a suitable offer is forthcoming. Cech wants to stay in the Premier League and his family are settled in London.
Wenger became aware of Cech’s availability during the middle of last season and, after dropping Wojciech Szczesny following his mistakes in the 2-0 defeat against Southampton on New Year’s Day, he has been reviewing his goalkeeper situation constantly.
Although the Colombia international David Ospina performed solidly in the final months of the season, he lacks the stature or physical presence of Cech.
Arsenal have also been without a genuinely world-class goalkeeper since the departure of Jens Lehmann in 2008, or arguably even David Seaman in 2003, and there is excitement among fans at the growing prospect of Cech’s arrival.
Cech, 33, believes that he can play at the highest level for potentially another five years and will be offered a deal in excess of £100,000 a week.
“Excited about signing of @PetrCech by Arsenal — a truly great goalkeeper joining a truly great club,” Bob Wilson wrote on Twitter. Wilson is Arsenal’s former goalkeeper coach and a good friend of Wenger.
Terry’s warning on TalkSport was also intriguing, especially as his comment about Cech’s potential worth to Arsenal did not follow a direct question about his long-time teammate.
“He’s been an unbelievable professional and was excellent in the games he played,” Terry said. “I’m sure if he does leave the club, which nobody wants to see but we understand he wants to play football, he’s going to be sorely missed and will improve any side he goes to.”
Mourinho decided last summer to make Thibaut Courtois his first-choice goalkeeper and Terry praised how Cech handled that situation.
“The two of them are up there with the best goalkeepers in the world,” the Chelsea captain said. “To take Petr out of the team, you have to be a great talent.
“When you get left out of the team it can be hard to accept but, when he came in, he was exceptional. He deserves a lot of credit for that.”
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2015
