Gary
Neville and Jamie Carragher have questioned the timing of the announcement
that John Terry will leave Chelsea at the end of the season.
The Blues announced on Monday that Terry, who has played 713 times for the
Blues since his debut in 1998, will leave Stamford Bridge after spending 22
years at the club, just 24 hours after Antonio Conte's side suffered a 2-0
defeat to Manchester United on Super Sunday.
The defeat reignited the Premier League title race with Chelsea's lead over
Tottenham cut to four points and Neville and Carragher, who highlighted some
poor defending from the Blues and in particular David Luiz on Monday Night
Football, have questioned the timing of the announcement, saying Terry could
still be needed for the run-in.
"The news of Terry leaving is incredibly strange timing, I don't get it at
all," Neville told MNF.
"I'm not really sure who it suits, maybe John Terry a little bit, but I'm
not even sure about that.
"It may be a distraction for the dressing room, the club and the fans will
be sad today especially after the big game they lost yesterday. Maybe he's
signed a pre-agreement with somebody and they couldn't keep it quiet any
longer.
Neville added: "They haven't kept a clean sheet for quite a bit now and I
think he could be quite useful for them.
"If they needed someone with experience in this last month to get them over
the line, he might be the man they need to call on.
"He's got the experience, the resilience, the robustness and that toughness
which would get his team-mates over line. He may be Chelsea's most important
player in the next few weeks."
Terry is yet to announce his next move but Carragher, who also questioned
the timing of the announcement, thinks the former England international
still has plenty to offer in the Premier League.
"The timing seems a bit strange on the back of yesterday's game and result,"
Carragher said.
"But for me, he's the best centre-back in the Premier League era. An
absolute legend and he'll certainly go down as Chelsea's greatest player.
He's one of the greats of the Premier League era and number one for me.
"I think he's got a lot to offer as a player in the Premier League," the
former Liverpool defender added. "You associate him as a one club man and I
think it's always sad when a player of that stature for a club puts a shirt
on for someone else.
"The fact he's come out early with this announcement I see him playing for
someone else next season. Hopefully for us it's in the Premier League."
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