City close in on Adebayor as Chelsea stand firm on Terry

WHILE Emmanuel Adebayor was last night on the brink of joining Manchester City after being granted a work permit Chelsea were standing firm in their refusal to let John Terry join the Manchester club.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has reiterated the club’s stance that Terry is not for sale.

England skipper Terry continues to be linked with a big-money move to Manchester City.

Reports have claimed City are prepared to pay £200,000 (€232,000) per week to the 28-year-old, whose lack of public comment on the matter has fuelled the speculation.

But Terry has three years remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge and Kenyon is adamant he will not be leaving. Kenyon said: “I don’t know what they are offering but I am confident John is going to remain with us.

“John is a talisman. He is the heart of Chelsea, came through the academy, he is our captain and has also become captain of England while he has been here.

“We are not going to sell John, so it is irrelevant what another club will offer. We are very confident he will be leading us in the years to come.

“He is not for sale at any price.’’

This affirmation echoes that of Ancelotti’s last week, when the Italian stated that Terry would be Chelsea captain “forever’’.

Kenyon also poured scorn suggestions he could follow Terry to Eastlands.

“I think that is just some of the mad speculation you get in this world of football,” he said. “I don’t think there is any issue there.”

Terry’s Chelsea team-mate Michael Ballack is also confident the defender will still be at Stamford Bridge when the new season kicks off.

“I read it in the papers so I spoke with him,’’ the German said.

“I thought, ‘it’s not true’ because everyone thinks he is a big part of Chelsea and he has been playing here for a long time so nobody can really imagine that he would change clubs.’’

Terry Venables is stunned that Terry is considering a move to City after expecting him to stay at Stamford Bridge for the remainder of his career.

“It would be amazing for City to sign Terry. If you’d asked me a couple of months ago I would have said it’s impossible. I’m still not sure but he’s certainly not saying no, which has surprised me. Chelsea are not saying anything at the moment either.

“The money is difficult to resist. Everyone goes to work to earn money and it’s an incredible amount.

“The most important thing is to get it done quickly. If it’s going to happen, do it so both teams can get on and prepare. If it drags on it will affect both teams.”

While Chelsea remain determined to frustrate City’s pursuit of Terry Mark Hughes’ side should seal a deal to sign Adebayor today.

If the deal goes through the Togo striker can expect to earn something in the region of £170,000 (€197,000) a week at City, double what he currently earns at Arsenal.

Adebayor’s capture would bring the number of strikers at City’s disposal to 10, four of which would have arrived since January and bring the club’s total spending since June 2008 to close to £200m (€232m).