John Terry waiting on Chelsea future as reports hint at England return

John Terry hopes Chelsea will offer him a contract extension but has vowed never to play for another English club, while he is reportedly considering a return to the national team.

Terry has just a year remaining on his current deal and his future is looking increasingly uncertain after a season when he has had to accept being part of Rafa Benitez's squad rotation.

He recognises he is not in the strongest position to go in search of a new contract and that, like Frank Lampard, who could leave this summer, time is catching up with him.

But whatever the future holds, Terry cannot envisage himself playing against Chelsea.

He said: "I'd love to stay at Chelsea. If that's not the case, I have got another year left which I will honour and respect, regardless if it's a yes or a no.

"Naturally it would be disappointing (to leave), but at the same time you understand that you can't be around forever.
"Where I would go after that it certainly wouldn't be in England. I couldn't do that to Chelsea or the fans. That's just not me.

"I'll wait for the club. I'm happy to leave things until they come to me. We've always had that mutual respect between ourselves."

While Terry waits to discover what his future holds at club level, reports on Saturday suggest he could still return to the England fold despite his acrimonious departure from international football.

According to widespread reports, Terry is prepared to make himself available to Roy Hodgson despite having stepped down from the team in the wake of being stripped of the captaincy.

The 32-year-old had the armband taken away from him when he was charged with racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand, and he announced his retirement from international football on the eve of the FA hearing into that case.

Terry had already been cleared by Westminster Magistrates' Court, but an independent FA commission found him guilty, handing him a four-match ban and fining him £220,000.

His last game for England, cap No 78, was as a substitute in the 5-0 victory over Moldova in a World Cup qualifier in September.

Terry's relationship with Football Association chairman David Bernstein was brought back into the public eye last week when he refused to shake his hand at the Champions League trophy handover.

But Bernstein is due to step down from his role in July and that could be a contributory factor in Terry's apparent U-turn, which could even see him involved in the squad to take on the Republic of Ireland and Brazil in friendlies at the end of May and early in June respectively.

Terry will have to convince Hodgson that his club form is good enough for a return to the international fold and although he maintains he is playing as well as ever, he has been in and out of the Chelsea team this season.