Chelsea are preparing a bid for Barcelona center back Gerard Pique as a long term replacement for their club captain John Terry. The Spanish international is contracted with the club until 2019, but despite that, Chelsea are prepared to break the bank for the 27-year old.
Chelsea’s captain John Terry has been brilliant since Jose Mourinho took over and has been one of the best defenders in the Premier League. He could earn a contract extension despite being 33 years of age, however, from a realistic point of view, Terry has around one or two more years of top level football left in him which could force Mourinho’s hand. According to fichajes.com as reported by Dailystar, Mourinho is set to replace Terry with Pique and is hoping that a sum of £24m will be enough to convince Barcelona and Luis Enrique to part ways with the defender.
John Terry and Gary Cahill have been the number 1 pairing under Mourinho so far, but without them, the defence looks average as they have inexperienced defenders like Kurt Zouma and Tomás Kalas (out on loan) at the club. Branislav Ivanovic can play as a center back, but Chelsea will definitely have problems if they don’t replace Terry with a good center back.
Pique has had a solid season so far after a poor outing last campaign when many criticized him for his below par performances for both club and country. Barcelona had kept 8 straight clean sheets in the Spanish League this season, a league record, before losing to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last week.
Pique has some experience of playing in the Premier League as he was with Manchester United before joining Barcelona in 2008. He spent 4 years at Manchester but managed to make just 21 appearances for the club.
At the moment, the Spanish international ruled out a move but also gave a hint that he could move if a good offer came in, “Nobody knows what the future holds but at the moment I’m loving the city, the people at the club and, most importantly, the institution.
“I don’t see myself leaving.”