Chelsea fear defeat in battle to hold on to John Terry

Chelsea will hold intensive talks with John Terry today as the club began seriously fearing the England skipper is on his way out of Stamford Bridge.

Terry's two-hour meeting with owner Roman Abramovich on Saturday ended in impasse, although the Blues insist the Chelsea captain has not asked for permission to speak to Manchester City.

But City are increasingly confident they are poised to land Terry in a move which would send out an unmissable statement of their intent to crack the top four.

And the genuine prospect of Terry's 14-year association with the Blues coming to a sudden and dramatic end will bring a summit meeting at which both sides will put their cards on the table.

Terry is fully aware of the £250,000-a-week offer being prepared by City which will make him by a huge margin the bestpaid player in English football.

Chelsea are willing to make their own compromise by offering Terry a £25,000-aweek rise which would make him the highest earner at Stamford Bridge. The Blues hierarchy insist new boss Carlo Ancelotti is being supported in the transfer market and that it is still the intention and ambition of the club to land a "marquee" name for the new season.

But Chelsea's failure to acquire any of their prime targets so far - one of whom, Carlos Tevez, is set to be unveiled at Eastlands tomorrow - has left Terry wondering if the club are set to fall back and possibly be overtaken by City as well as Liverpool and Manchester United.

Terry knows that leaving Chelsea at this stage and after Ancelotti and the board have spoken about him being a "symbol'' of the club, will be viewed as betrayal by many Blues fans.

The England skipper, however, believes it is only reasonable for him to look after his own long-term interests.

Mirror City are providing the opportunity for Terry to take that step this summer and will wait for the green light from the defender before tabling their third bid. Despite his close relationship with Abramovich, which has seen the Russian billionaire allow Terry, 28, use of his yacht for his honeymoon, the captain was not convinced that staying is his best option.

Eastlands chief executive Garry Cook would prefer to offer £35m but knows it might take nearer £40m to persuade Chelsea to talk.

Chelsea still hope to end the saga positively over the next 72 hours, before the club fly to Seattle on Thursday for the opening leg of the pre-season tour to the USA.

Meanwhile, a boardroom reshuffle has seen Frank Arnesen's powerbase dramatically enhanced with the Dane appointed sporting director.

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